First report of adult †Burmecaelidae with description of a new species from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Orthoptera: Caelifera)

• Published in: Cretaceous research 2024-10, Vol.162, p.105937, Article 105937
• Main Authors: Hu, Tian-Hao, Li, Kai, He, Zhu-Qing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Kachin amber; Mesozoic; Moban; Myanmar; New genus
• ISSN: 0195-6671; 1095-998X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105937

An adult male of †Burmecaelinus armis Uchida, Husemann and Kotthoff, 2023, and a newly identified genus and species †Moban zhengzheminigen. et sp. nov., are reported based on two well preserved adult specimens from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. †M. zhengzheminigen. et sp. nov. can be distinguished by following characters: body with irregular small dark spots; pronotum is in uniform width, with dispersed shallow dents and two distinct transverse sulci, posterior angle is protruding forward; posterior thoracic process is shark-tooth shaped; pronotal disc without four longitudinal carinae; tip of apical spurs on metatibia not curved. The morphological diagnosis of the family †Burmecaelidae was emended, and the posterior thoracic process of adult †Burmecaelidae species is possibly specialized scutellum. We proposed a hypothesis that this extinct family was a sister group of Tridactyloidea and species of †Burmecaelidae lived in humid environment near water and had affinity for wet and semi-aquatic habitats. •The first report of adult †Burmecaelidae.•A new genus with a new species of †Burmecaelidae, †Moban zhengzheminigen. et sp. nov. is reported.•The first report of specialized scutellum in orthopteran.•The probable living habits of †Burmecaelidae is discussed.•Morphological details of early Caelifera.