Yunzhi Yao

Blood-Feeding True Bugs in the Early Cretaceous

Blood-feeding insects, as vectors of disease for humans and livestock alike, have garnered significant interest, but our understanding of their early evolution is hindered by the scarcity of available material and the difficulty in distinguishing early hematophages from non-blood-feeding relatives. Here, we report a new family of true bugs including two new genera and species from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation in Northeastern China. By utilizing geochemical methods for determining their diets and combining morphological and taphonomic data, we demonstrate that these new species represent the earliest evidence of blood feeding among true bugs, extending the geological record of such lineages by approximately 30 million years. Remarkably, one of the bugs appears to have perished immediately following a blood meal, which may have been from coexisting mammals, birds, or avian-related dinosaurs. These records expand the phylogenetic and ecological diversity of blood-feeding insects in the Early Cretaceous, enriching our knowledge of paleoecological associations in these ancient environments.

Phylogeny of the Infraorder Pentatomomorpha based on fossil and extant morphology, with description of a new fossil family from China.

Background An extinct new family of Pentatomomorpha, Venicoridae Yao, Ren & Cai fam. nov., with 2 new genera and 2 new species (Venicoris solaris Yao, Ren & Rider gen. & sp. nov. and Clavaticoris zhengi Yao, Ren & Cai gen. & sp. nov.) are described from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation in Northeast China. Methodology/Principal Findings A cladistic analysis based on a combination of fossil and extant morphological characters clarified the phylogenetic status of the new family and has allowed the reconstruction of intersuperfamily and interfamily relationships within the Infraorder Pentatomomorpha. The fossil record and diversity of Pentatomomorpha during the Mesozoic is discussed. Conclusions/Significance Pentatomomorpha is a monophyletic group; Aradoidea and the Trichophora are sister groups; these fossils belong to new family, treated as the sister group of remainder of Trichophora; Pentatomoidea is a monophyletic group; Piesmatidae should be separated as a superfamily, Piesmatoidea. Origin time of Pentatomomorpha should be tracked back to the Middle or Early Triassic.

The Mesozoic family Archegocimicidae and phylogeny of the infraorder Leptopodomorpha (Hemiptera)

The Mesozoic hemipteran family Archegocimicidae Handlirsch is newly diagnosed and its fauna in China revised based on abundant new material. The complicated taxonomic history of the family is reviewed and the following taxonomic changes proposed: Propritergum opimum Zhang, Engel, Yao & Ren gen. et sp. nov.; Longianteclypea gen. nov.; Longianteclypea tibialis (Popov), comb. nov.; Mesolygaeus naevius (Hong), comb. nov.; Sinolygaeus Hong, synonym of Mesolygaeus Ping; and Enicocoris manlaicus Popov, Xishania fusiformis Hong, Jiaodongia maershanensis Hong, and Xishania? jiangxiensis Hong all synonyms of Mesolygaeus laiyangensis Ping. Living and fossil representatives of the infraorder Leptopodomorpha are coded for the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the clade. The resulting cladogram supports the recognition of the constituent superfamilies Saldoidea and Leptopodoidea, the former containing Saldidae, Aepophilidae and Archegocimicidae, and the latter Palaeoleptidae, Omaniidae and Leptopodidae. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BCB8B92B-D67C-457F-A55F-10BF3A9D3D82

Primipentatomidae fam. nov (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomomorpha), an extinct insect family from the Cretaceous of north-eastern China

A new extinct family of Pentatomoidea, Primipentatomidae fam. nov., with four new genera and five new species (Primipentatoma peregrina gen. et sp. nov., Primipentatoma fangi gen. et sp. nov., Breviscutum lunatum gen. et sp. nov., Oropentatoma epichara gen. et sp. nov. and Quadrocoris radius gen. et sp. nov.), is described from the Upper Mesozoic deposits of north-eastern China. A cladistic analysis based on a combination of fossil and extant morphological characters clarifies the phylogenetic status of the new family and allows reconstruction of the interfamily relationships within the superfamily Pentatomoidea. Major conclusions of the phylogenetic analysis are: (1) the fossils represent a monophyletic group interpreted as the sister group to all Pentatomoidea exclusive of Saileriolidae + Urostylididae; (2) Urostylididae sensu lato is a paraphyletic group; (3) monophyly of Acanthosomatidae, Pentatomidae, Thyreocoridae, Dinidoridae, Phloeidae and Scutelleridae are strongly supported by high bootstrap values in the analysis, but the relationships among these families is less resolved; (4) monophyly of the Cydnidae was not supported. The time of origin of Pentatomoidea should be before the Early Cretaceous (125–130 Ma), and may be as early as the Late or Middle Jurassic with a centre of origin in East Asia. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A432B387-E3A1-42D3-8051-867EB5108318

The first report of Mesoveliidae (Heteroptera: Gerromorpha) from the Yixian Formation of China and its taxonomic significance

One new genus and two new species of fossil Mesoveliidae, Sinovelia mega and Sinovelia popovi, are described and illustrated. They were collected from Early Cretaceous non-marine sedimentary strata of the Yixian Formation in northeastern China. These represent the first fossil mesoveliids from China and can be assigned to the subfamily Mesoveliinae.

Convergent evolution of ramified antennae in insect lineages from the Early Cretaceous of Northeastern China.

Antennae are important, insect sensory organs that are used principally for communication with other insects and the detection of environmental cues. Some insects independently evolved ramified (branched) antennae, which house several types of sensilla for motion detection, sensing olfactory and chemical cues, and determining humidity and temperature levels. Though ramified antennae are common in living insects, occasionally they are present in the Mesozoic fossil record. Here, we present the first caddisflies with ramified antennae, the earliest known fossil sawfly, and a scorpionfly also with ramified antennae from the mid-Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Northeastern China, dated at 125 million years ago (Ma). These three insect taxa with ramified antennae consist of three unrelated lineages and provide evidence for broad structural convergence that historically has been best demonstrated by features such as convergent mouthparts. In addition, ramified antennae in these Mid-Mesozoic lineages likely do not constitute a key innovation, as they are not associated with significantly increased diversification compared with closely related lineages lacking this trait, and nor are they ecologically isolated from numerous, co-occurring insect species with unmodified antennae.

New fossil Progonocimicidae (Hemiptera: Coleorrhyncha: Progonocimicoidea) from the Upper Mesozoic of northeastern China, with a phylogeny of Coleorrhyncha

A new Progonocimicidae species, Cicadocoris anisomeridis sp.n., with asymmetrical tegmina is described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation in northeastern China. This is the fifth report of Coleorrhyncha from China. A cladistic analysis based on a combination of fossil and extant taxa clarifies the phylogenetic status of the new fossils and allows the reconstruction of inter‐subfamily relationships within the suborder Coleorrhyncha. Coleorrhyncha is monophyletic and divided into two main clades. Progonocimicidae comprises a monophyletic lineage, to which the new fossils belong. The broadly conceived Progonocimicinae and Cicadocorinae, as recognized by earlier authors, are not supported. The monophyly of the family Karabasiidae is also not supported, and its two constituent subfamilies Hoploridiinae and Karabasiinae are raised to family rank. Hoploridiidae is found to be sister group to all extant moss bugs, and Karabasiidae is found to be the monophyletic sister group to Hoploridiidaeu2009+u2009all extant moss bugs.

A new species of Progonocimicidae (Hemiptera, Coleorrhyncha) from the Middle Jurassic of China

Dong Q.P., Yao Y.Z. & Ren D., 2012. A new species of Progonocimicidae (Hemiptera, Coleorrhyncha) from the Middle Jurassic of China. Alcheringa, 1–7. ISSN 0311-5518. A new fossil species, Cicadocoris assimilis, of the family Progonocimicidae is described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China. Cicadocoris Becker-Migdisova, 1958 and Mesocimex Hong, 1983 show no significant differences and are considered to be synonyms. Qiuping Dong [qiupingdong@gmail.com], Yunzhi Yao* [Corresponding author: yaoyz100@gmail.com] and Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn], Key Laboratory of Insect Evolution and Environmental Changes, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, PR China. *Also affiliated with State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS), Nanjing 210008, PR China. Received 30.3.2012; revised 21.5.2012; accepted 7.6.2012.

New shore bug (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Saldidae) from the Early Cretaceous of China with phylogenetic analyses

Abstract A new genus with a new species of Saldidae, Brevrimatus pulchalifer gen. et sp. n., is described and illustrated. The fossil specimen was found from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Duolun County, Inner Mongolia, China. Phylogenetic analyses within Saldidae were performed, and the results indicate Brevrimatus pulchalifer gen. et sp. n. should be assigned to the subfamily Chiloxanthinae.

A New Fossil of Necrotauliidae (Insecta: Trichoptera) from the Jiulongshan Formation of China and Its Taxonomic Significance

Background Acisarcuatus variradius gen. et sp. nov., an extinct new species representing a new genus, is described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation in Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China. Methodology/Principal Findings In this paper, we revised the diagnosis of Necrotauliidae Handlirsch, 1906. One new genus and species of Necrotauliidae is described. An analysis based on the fossil morphological characters clarified the taxonomic status of the new taxa. Conclusions/Significance New fossil evidence supports the viewpoint that the family Necrotauliidae belongs to the Integripalpia.