Acta Palaeontologica Polonica

New Jurassic tettigarctid cicadas from China with a novel example of disruptive coloration

Jun Chen, Haichun Zhang, Bo Wang, Yan Zheng, Xiaoli Wang, and Xiaoting Zheng

Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 61 (4), 2016: 853-862 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4202/app.00238.2015

Tettigarctidae is the most primitive family of Cicadoidea, with only two relict species. Although they are relatively well known from Eurasia, Australia, Africa, and South America, their Mesozoic examples are typically preserved only as isolated forewings. Herein, a new genus Sanmai Chen, Zhang, and B. Wang with three new species (Sanmai kongi Chen, Zhang, and B. Wang, S. mengi Chen, Zhang, and B. Wang, and S. xuni Chen, Zhang, and B. Wang) are described based on fossil specimens from the Middle–Upper Jurassic of northeastern China, with well-preserved body  structures, forewing and hindwing venations, making it the hitherto best known extinct tettigarctid taxon. The new genus, provisionally assigned to the tribe Turutanoviini, provides some new information about the evolution and palaeobiogeography of Mesozoic Tettigarctidae. The genus Paraprosbole is synonymized with Shuraboprosbole. In addition, the coloration pattern of forewing, prominent on some specimens of Sanmai kongi Chen, Zhang, and B. Wang sp. nov. and Sanmai xuni Chen, Zhang, and B. Wang sp. nov., represents a novel example of disruptive coloration in Tettigarctidae, which can effectively break up the body outline as well as surface, and so likely enabled these cicadas to reduce the detectability of potential predators.

Key words: Insecta, Hemiptera, Tettigarctidae, coloration pattern, Jurassic, China, Daohugou.

Jun Chen [rubiscada@sina.com] (corresponding author), Yang Zheng [zhengyan536@lyu.edu.cn], Xiaoli Wang [wangxiaoli@lyu.edu.cn], and Xiaoting Zheng [gsw@lyu.edu.cn], Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Shuangling Rd., Linyi 276000, China. Jun Chen and Haichun Zhang [hczhang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, East Beijing Rd., Nanjing 210008, China. Bo Wang [savantwang@gmail.com], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, East Beijing Rd., Nanjing 210008, China; Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China.


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