Journal
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
Volume 125, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104843
Keywords
Jinju Formation; Elcanidae; WDS analysis; Pterostigma; Spur; Tridactyloidea
Categories
Funding
- Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) [PE21060]
- Korea Polar Research Institute of Marine Research Placement (KOPRI) [PE21060] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Researchers have discovered a new species of elcanid insects in the lower Albian Jinju Formation, and used Wavelength Dispersive Spectrometer analysis for the first time on insect fossils. They found that elcanid insects may have used leaf-shaped spurs on their hind legs to jump on the water surface as an effective way to escape from predators.
The lower Albian Jinju Formation has produced various fossils of invertebrates. Of them, insect fossils have remained understudied, and especially, orthopteran fossils have never been described from the Jinju Formation. Here we report a new species of the Elcanidae (Orthoptera: Elcanoidea), Panorpidium spica sp. nov. based on three specimens from the Jinju Formation. Notably, we have applied Wavelength Dispersive Spectrometer (WDS) analysis for the first time on insect fossils, and discovered that the carbon elemental maps are helpful in recognizing crucial morphology. The presence of pterostigmata in forewing supports that elcanids evolved a unique flight mechanism distinct from other extant orthopterans. Based on a detailed morphological comparison with the paddles of the extant tridactylids, it is inferred that the leaf-shaped spurs on the metatibiae of elcanids were used for jumping on the water, although other possible functions cannot be ruled out. Diving into the water and jumping on the water surface must have been an effective way of escaping from predators, both for the flightless nymphs and the short-range flying adults. 0 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available