Aenigmaraphidophora mouniri, AZAR & MAALOUF & NEL, 2022

AZAR, DANY, MAALOUF, RAMY & NEL, ANDRÉ, 2022, An enigmatic Tettigoniidea from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Bqaatouta, Lebanon (Orthoptera, Ensifera), Palaeoentomology 5 (3), pp. 233-239 : 234

Aenigmaraphidophora mouniri sp. nov.

( Figs 1–3 ) urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:DF023468-4A2E-45B3-8D0B-13826D4F2F13

Material. Holotype of Aenigmaraphidophora mouniri gen. et sp. nov. (a nearly complete fossil, either a larva or a male), specimen number BKT-3A, Maalouf Collection, is stored at the Natural History Museum of the Lebanese University, Faculty of Sciences II, Fanar, Lebanon.

Etymology. Named after Dr Mounir Maalouf, father of RM and discoverer of the amber site and studied material.

Diagnosis. As for the genus, vide supra.

Type locality and horizon. Bqaatouta amber outcrop (33°58′0″N, 35°47′13″E, elev. 1,177 m), Caza (= District) Kesserouan , Central Lebanon, lower Barremian .

Description. Body 2.61 mm long (from head tip to abdomen); head 1.43 mm long; clypeus divided into an ante- and a postclypeus; antenna with 55 segments, 8.46 mm long; maxillary palp 2.15 mm long; apical sensory zone of maxillary palp elongate ( Fig. 2B ), much longer than palp apical width; thorax 0.97 mm long, 0.92 mm high; four tarsomeres on all legs; fore leg with tibia 0.95 mm long, tarsus 0.4 mm long, distal articulation zone of fore coxa displaced laterally; tympan present on fore tibia ( Fig. 2C ); mid femur 2.53 long, with one inner and one outer relatively large movable apical spines, tibia 0.91 mm long, tarsus 0.55 mm long; hind femur 2.06 mm long, with outer side without any chevron ridges, tibia 1.76 mm long, with longest apical spur slightly shorter than first and second segments of hind tarsi combined, hind tarsi laterally compressed, 1 st tarsomere with one flat pulvillus, 2 nd and 3 rd tarsomeres with a widened pulvilllus; abdomen 1.25 mm long, 1.3 mm high; no femoro-abdominal stridulatory apparatus observable; abdominal tergites without obvious process on dorsal surface; epiproct without posterior process; cerci 0.95 mm long, straight, bearing very long setae, but without any bulbous-like sensillae; subgenital plate with styles ( Fig. 3C ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Aenigmaraphidophora mouniri gen. et sp. nov., male, holotype BKT-3A. A and B, Habitus. Scale bars = 3 mm

FIGURE 2. Aenigmaraphidophora mouniri gen. et sp. nov., male, holotype BKT-3A. A, Head, lateral view. B, Apical sensory zone of maxillary palp. C, Tympan on fore leg. Scale bars = 1 mm in A and 0.3 mm in B and C.

FIGURE 3. Aenigmaraphidophora mouniri gen. et sp. nov., male, holotype BKT-3A. A, Hind leg. B, Hind leg. C, Male terminalia. Scale bars = 1 mm in A and B, 0.5 mm in C.