Back in the 1959 entomologist Milton Sanderson collected approximately 72.5 kg (160 lbs.) of amber dated at being between 18-20 myo (Early Miocene) from the La Toca region, near Santiago de los Caballeros, Santiago Province, in north central Dominican Republic. The discovery was reported in Science the next year and essentially forgotten until it was recently re-discovered in a 5-gallon drum setting in a cabinet under a sink.
While examining this forgotten collection Sam W. Heads, an insect palaeontologist with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Illinois Natural History Survey and his colleagues discovered dozens of insects (including flies, stingless bees, midges, ants, wasps, bark beetles, mites and spiders), and plant inclusions (including a flower bud) and even a mammal hair within the amber.
But one chunk, measuring 20 × 15 × 12 mm (0.78" x 0.6" x 0.47") in size, contained a tiny extremely well-preserved insect that really caught their attention as they examined it under stereomicroscopes.
It was a previously unknown species and genus of Tetrigidae, commonly known as pygmy locust, that belongs to the subfamily Cladonotinae. The specimen, identified as being a female, is only 8 mm (0.3") long. Tetrigidae are extremely rare in the fossil record with only nine species having thus far been discovered so Heads and his team knew they had an important find.
The researchers named their discovery Electrotettix attenboroughi with the first or genus name combining the Latin name for amber ("electrum") with the Greek word for grasshopper ("tettix"). The species name is in honor of British naturalist and filmmaker Sir David Attenborough. So the name essentially translates as "Attenbourgh’s amber grasshopper."
The specimen is extraordinary in that it represents an intermediate stage in the evolution of Cladonotinae. While modern relatives of this pygmy cricket are totally wingless, this species possesses rudimentary hind wings -- remnant structures that had already lost their primary function.
IOW, the most ancient representatives of this group had wings, whereas their modern counterparts do not so Electrotettix reveals the point when this subfamily was losing its wings.
The researchers note that even though these wings are much reduced they still possessed complete venation and demonstrate full rotation which establishes that this specimen is indeed an adult and not merely a nymph with wing pads.
Still, as Heads points out, Electrotettix couldn't fly in that the wings are much reduced. He also adds that “We wouldn't exactly call it a missing link, but it’s certainly an interesting intermediate between a fully winged ancestor and a wingless descendent."
Thank you for not calling it a missing link, an archaic and non-scientific name for a transitional fossil species still used in popular media and unfortunately by some scientists when describing a transitional fossil.
The researchers will continue to examine this huge stash of amber looking for more important discoveries over the next several years (such work is painstakingly slow). During the process the researchers plan on digitizing the best specimens and uploading the images onto a publicly available website.
top is oblique right lateral view and bottom is in oblique left lateral view (scale bar 1 mm)
Electrotettix 2.jpg
Further Reading:
A remarkable new pygmy grasshopper (Orthoptera, Tetrigidae) in Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic Abstract & Paper
20-million-year-old grasshopper named after David Attenborough (includes 30 sec video)
New Pygmy Locust Discovered in Ancient Amber, Named after David Attenborough
Decades-old amber collection offers new views of a lost world: Tiny grasshopper encased in amber
New Grasshopper Species Discovered In Amber Collected 50 Years Ago
New cricket discovered in long-neglected amber collection
Forgotten amber collection is a new window to the past
Ancient cricket found in neglected primeval amber
While examining this forgotten collection Sam W. Heads, an insect palaeontologist with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Illinois Natural History Survey and his colleagues discovered dozens of insects (including flies, stingless bees, midges, ants, wasps, bark beetles, mites and spiders), and plant inclusions (including a flower bud) and even a mammal hair within the amber.
But one chunk, measuring 20 × 15 × 12 mm (0.78" x 0.6" x 0.47") in size, contained a tiny extremely well-preserved insect that really caught their attention as they examined it under stereomicroscopes.
It was a previously unknown species and genus of Tetrigidae, commonly known as pygmy locust, that belongs to the subfamily Cladonotinae. The specimen, identified as being a female, is only 8 mm (0.3") long. Tetrigidae are extremely rare in the fossil record with only nine species having thus far been discovered so Heads and his team knew they had an important find.
The researchers named their discovery Electrotettix attenboroughi with the first or genus name combining the Latin name for amber ("electrum") with the Greek word for grasshopper ("tettix"). The species name is in honor of British naturalist and filmmaker Sir David Attenborough. So the name essentially translates as "Attenbourgh’s amber grasshopper."
The specimen is extraordinary in that it represents an intermediate stage in the evolution of Cladonotinae. While modern relatives of this pygmy cricket are totally wingless, this species possesses rudimentary hind wings -- remnant structures that had already lost their primary function.
IOW, the most ancient representatives of this group had wings, whereas their modern counterparts do not so Electrotettix reveals the point when this subfamily was losing its wings.
The researchers note that even though these wings are much reduced they still possessed complete venation and demonstrate full rotation which establishes that this specimen is indeed an adult and not merely a nymph with wing pads.
Still, as Heads points out, Electrotettix couldn't fly in that the wings are much reduced. He also adds that “We wouldn't exactly call it a missing link, but it’s certainly an interesting intermediate between a fully winged ancestor and a wingless descendent."
Thank you for not calling it a missing link, an archaic and non-scientific name for a transitional fossil species still used in popular media and unfortunately by some scientists when describing a transitional fossil.
The researchers will continue to examine this huge stash of amber looking for more important discoveries over the next several years (such work is painstakingly slow). During the process the researchers plan on digitizing the best specimens and uploading the images onto a publicly available website.
top is oblique right lateral view and bottom is in oblique left lateral view (scale bar 1 mm)
Electrotettix 2.jpg
Further Reading:
A remarkable new pygmy grasshopper (Orthoptera, Tetrigidae) in Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic Abstract & Paper
20-million-year-old grasshopper named after David Attenborough (includes 30 sec video)
New Pygmy Locust Discovered in Ancient Amber, Named after David Attenborough
Decades-old amber collection offers new views of a lost world: Tiny grasshopper encased in amber
New Grasshopper Species Discovered In Amber Collected 50 Years Ago
New cricket discovered in long-neglected amber collection
Forgotten amber collection is a new window to the past
Ancient cricket found in neglected primeval amber
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