Magnilens, Vea & Grimaldi, 2015

Vea, Isabelle M. & Grimaldi, David A., 2015, Diverse new scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) in amber from the Cretaceous and Eocene with a phylogenetic framework for fossil Coccoidea, American Museum Novitates 2015 (3823), pp. 1-80 : 45

Magnilens , new genus

TYPE SPECIES: Magnilens glaesaria , n. sp., by present designation and monotypy.

OCCURRENCE: Myanmar: Kachin: near Tanai village. Albian-Cenomanian boundary.

ETYMOLOGY: The genus name comes from the Latin magnus, for “large,” and lens for “eye” in reference to the large protruding eyes. Gender: feminine.

DIAGNOSIS: Body large, head with ocular sclerites each bearing eight pairs of large and bulging simple eyes (vs. seven small ones in Putoidae , and six in Solicoccus , diagonally arranged); antenna filiform, almost trinodose (vs. not nodose in Solicoccus ), with long setae; forewings with microtrichia; legs slender, tibia with setae becoming spinelike on ventral surface distally; tarsus 2-segmented; claw with spinelike digitules; abdominal segment VIII with a pair of wax filaments, indicative of a pair of glandular pouches (vs. two pairs of glandular pouches in Solicoccus on abdominal segments VII and VIII). Penial sheath large triangular, with a narrow pointed aedeagus (vs. long and bifurcated in Putoidae ).

SPECIES INCLUDED: M. glaesaria , n. sp.

COMMENTS: Magnilens definitely belongs to the taxa bearing a row of multiple simple eyes. This genus seems most similar to Recent Puto with the following characters: the long antennal setae, the 2-segmented tarsus, with similar tibial spurs present ventrally and more numerous toward tarsus, presumable glandular pouches on abdominal segment VIII, each with two wax filaments, and the subtriangular, elongate penial sheath with a narrow aedeagus. However, significant differences also occur: the ocular sclerite bears very large and protruding eyes (vs. small round eyes in Puto ), hamulohalteres bear two hamuli (vs. four hamuli), the tarsal digitules are undifferentiated (vs. differentiated), the claw denticles are absent (vs. present), the aedeagus is pointed apically (vs. bifurcated). The phylogenetic results based on morphological characters retrieved Magnilens as sister genus to Solicoccus (Labiococcidae) described in New Jersey amber ( Koteja, 2000b) but not closely related to Putoidae . However, Solicoccus differs from Magnilens by the small size and diagonal arrangement of simple eyes in the former, the presence of glandular pouches on abdominal segments VII and VIII (vs. only one segment [VIII] in Magnilens ), and three hamuli on the hamulohaltere (vs. two). Unfortunately, the specimen orientation does not allow a comparison of the thoracic structures, and until more specimens are found, Magnilens is considered incertae familiae.