Sciency Thoughts: Froghoppers

Showing posts with label Froghoppers. Show all posts

Thursday, 25 April 2019

Anthoscytina daidaleos: A new species of Froghopper from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Lagerstätte of Inner Mongolia.

Froghoppers, Cercopoidea are small members of the True Bug order (Hemiptera), related to Cicadas, Cicadoidea, Leafhoppers and Treehoppers, Membracoidea. They resemble Leafhoppers, but are smaller and more robust. Over 3000 species of Froghoppers have been described to date, they are found throughout the world and most numerous in the tropics, although tropical Froghoppers have not been extensively studied to date. Modern Froghoppers are divided into five families, the Cercopidae, Aphrophoridae, Clastopteridae, Machaerotidae, and Epipygidae, with another three, extinct, families represented in the Mesozoic fossil record, the Procercopidae, Sinoalidae, and Cercopionidae. The Procercopidae are the oldest of these groups, first appearing in the fossil record in the Early Jurassic in Eurasia and Australia, and persisting at least until the Early Cretaceous.

In a paper published in the journal Palaeoentomology on 28 December 2018, Yanzhe Fu of the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and the University of Science and Technology of China, Diying Huang, also of the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Michael Engel of the Division of Entomology at the Natural History Museum of the University of Kansas, and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas, describe a new species of Procercopid Froghopper from the Middle Jurassic Haifanggou Formation, part of the Daohugou Lagerstätte of Inner Mongolia.

The Haifanggou Formation outcrops around Daohugou Village, and has produced a large number of exceptionally well preserved Insects, which along with similar fossils from the associated Jiulongshan Formation form what is commonly known as the Daohugou Lagerstätte, part of the Yanliao Biota. The fossils are thought to be late Middle Jurassic in origin, from the boundary between the Bathonian and Callovian eras, making them about 165 million years old. This provides a valuable insight into insect diversity in the Jurassic, before the appearance and rapid rise to dominance of Angiosperms (Flowering Plants), an event which radically reshaped Insect faunas. The Daohugou beds are interpreted as a lake environment, with largely still waters.

The new species is placed in the genus long-lived genus Anthoscytina, which currently contains eleven species from the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of northern Asia, and given the specific name 'daidaleos', meaning 'spotted' or 'dappled' in reference to the pattern on the hind wings. The species is described from four female specimens and a fifth of indeterminate sex, ranging in length from 12.6 to 13.5 mm, and differentiated from other members of the genus by the pattern of veins in the wings (commonly used as a way to differentiate Insect species).

Specimen of Anthoscytina daidaleos from the Middle to Upper Jurassic Haifanggou Formation
at Daohugou. Scale Bar is 2 mm. Fu et al. (2019).

Tuesday, 16 February 2016

Monecphora broomfieldi & Monecphora machadoi: Two new species of Spittlebug from Costa Rica and Brazil.

Spittlebugs and Froghoppers, Cercopidae, are one of the world's largest group of sap-sucking Insects, with other 3000 described species, which is probably a poor representation of the group's true diversity. They are mambers of the True Bug order Hemiptera, whuch also includes Aphids, Cicadas and Leafhoppres. Adults tend to be brightly coloured and are powerful jumpers, giving them a superficial resemblence to Frogs, while the name Spittlebugs comes from the habit of the juveniles, which cover themselves in a frothy substance as a protection against predators.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 9 February 2015 Gervasio Silva Carvalho of the Faculdade de Biociências at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Albino Morimasa Sakakibara of the Departamento de Zoologia at the Universidade Federal do Paraná and Michael Webb of the Natural History Museum in London describe two new species of Spittlebugs from Costa Rica and Brazil. Both are placed within the genus Monecphora, which is found across Central and South America.

The first new species described is named Monecphora broomfieldi, in honour of the entomologist and illustrator Peter Broomfield. The species is described from three male and five female specimens, all adults collected from Costa Rica. The males range in size from 11.5 to 13.2 mm, the females from 10.5 to 13.0 mm. Both sexes share the same colouration, being bright yellow with dark brown bands.

Monocphora broomfieldi, male specimen in dorsal view. Scale bar is 1 mm. Carvalho et al. (2016).

The second species described is named Monecphora machadoi, in honour of the influential Brazilian researcher and entomologist Angelo Machado on the occassion of his 80th birthday. The species is named from one male and eight female specimens all collected in Brazil. The male is 11.6 mm in lenght, the females range from 10.8 to 13.8 mm, all are yellow in colour, with light brown markings on the hind part of the body.

Monocphora machadoi, male specimen in dorsal view. Scale bar is 1 mm. Carvalho et al. (2016).

Monday, 15 September 2014

Two new species of Froghopper from Dominican amber.

Froghoppers (Cercopoidea) are small members of the True Bug order (Hemiptera), related to Cicadas (Cicadoidea), Leafhoppers and Treehoppers (Membracoidea). They resemble Leafhoppers, but are smaller and more robust. Over 3000 species of Froghoppers have been described to date, they are found throughout the world and most numerous in the tropics, although tropical Froghoppers have not been extensively studied to date. Froghoppers are divided into three groups, the Clastopteridae, Epipygidae and Cercopidae (Spittlebugs), with the Clastopteridae thought to be the most ancient lineage. The fossil record of Froghoppers is not good enough to determine when the group diverged (all previously described fossils have been too poorly preserved or too ancient to place in any modern group), though based upon genetic data the Clastopteridae are thought to have diverged from other Froghoppers about 175 million years ago. The Clastopteridae are most numerous in the Americas, where they make up about 40% of known species, though all of these are placed in a single widespread genus, Clastoptera, the closest relative of which, the genus Iba is known only from three rare species from islands in Southeast Asia.

In a paper published in the journal Historical Biology on 3 January 2013, George Poinar of the Department of Zoology at Oregon State University, Andrew Hamilton of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Alex Brown of Berkeley, California, describe two new species of Froghopper from Dominican Amber. Both species are placed within a new genus, named Prisciba, from ‘priscus’ meaning ‘ancient’ and Iba, the modern genus. This genus is placed within the Clastopteridae, the first fossil genus placed within a modern Froghopper group, and the first genus other than Clastoptera recorded from the Americas. Unfortunately the dating of Dominican amber is poorly understood, so the specimens could be anywhere from 45 to 15 million years old.

The first new species is named Prisciba serrata, meaning ‘serrated’, a reference to the margins of the protonum (expanded cuticle on the first segment of the thorax). Prisciba serrata is 4.0 mm in length, mostly chestnut brown in colour with darker markings. It originates from the La Bucara Amber Mine in the north of the Dominican Republic. The single known specimen is female.

Prisciba serrata in (1) dorsal, (2) ventral and (3) lateral views. Scale bars are 1 mm. Poiner et al. (2013).

The second new species is named Prisciba dominicana, in reference to the Dominican Republic where it was found. Prisciba dominicana is 4.0 mm in length, chestnut brown, light brown and yellow. It originates from the La Toca Amber Mine in the north of the Dominican Republic. The single known specimen is male.

Prisciba dominicana in (4) dorsal and (5) ventral views. Scale bars are 1 mm. Poiner et al. (2013).