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 ScienceElectrotettix attenboroughiElectrotettix 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, ElectrotettixThank 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
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, ElectrotettixThank 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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