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Shi C, Yang Q, Shih C, Labandeira CC, Pang H, Ren D. Cretaceous mantid lacewings with specialized raptorial forelegs illuminate modification of prey capture (Insecta: Neuroptera). Zool J Linn Soc 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
The Mantispidae (Neuroptera), commonly known as mantid lacewings or mantispids, are characterized by raptorial forelegs used by adults for predation. They have a fossil history extending to the Early Jurassic. During the past 180 Myr, the lineage has undergone significant evolutionary transformation, exhibiting an elevated diversity in morphology yet retaining the same overall ground plan. Although raptorial foreleg morphology and capture behaviour are well documented in extant insects, they are poorly known for premodern lineages, attributable to the scarcity and poor preservation of fossils. Here, we report two new genera and species of Mantispidae from mid-Cretaceous Myanmar (Burmese) amber. Both taxa have highly specialized raptorial forelegs and highlight modification of capture strategy in Cretaceous Mantispidae. The foreleg of both species has one major spine that is the same length as the foretibia on the ventral surface of the forefemur, which faces the foretibia with a row of robust setae. The two new amber mantid lacewings provide structural and functional indications that represent an extinct mode of capture strategy. The new findings reveal the presence of a geochronologically rapid diversification of Mantispidae during the Early Cretaceous, thereby illuminating the varied morphologies involved in prey-capture strategies integral to the early evolution of mantispids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaofan Shi
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Geodynamics and Geohazards, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources & Geological Processes, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qiang Yang
- School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chungkun Shih
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Conrad C Labandeira
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Hong Pang
- School of Ecology/Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institute, The Museum of Biology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
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Makarkin VN. The First Mantidfly (Neuroptera: Mantispidae) from the Early Eocene Green River Formation. BULLETIN OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 2019. [DOI: 10.3374/014.060.0202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir N. Makarkin
- Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690022 Russia —
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