A new fossil record of Hemiptera shows key morphological traits in mid-Cretaceous amber, indicating early phylogenetic relationships.
A new tribe Cretaloxini tribe. nov. of jumping tree bugs is established for the fossil Cretaloxus wanae gen. et sp. nov., a well-preserved specimen from mid-Cretaceous amber. This taxon is classified within the subfamily Isometopinae (Hemiptera: Miridae) and represents the oldest fossil record of Isometopinae found so far from northern Myanmar as well as the whole world. High-resolution habitus photographs of the female holotype (Cretaloxus wanae gen. et sp. nov.) are provided. The new species can be placed in Isometopinae by the following characters: the ocelli present and antennal fossa situated below compound eyes. The fossil serves as a critical source of morphological data, offering novel insights for analyzing the phylogenetic relationships within Miridae through external characters. Specifically, this mid-Cretaceous Burmese fossil may preserve an early morphological stage of Isometopinae, offering key evidence for reconstructing the initial diversification of Miridae.
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YIN et al. (2025) studied this question.
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