Batesian insect-insect mimicry-related explosive radiation of ancient alienopterid cockroaches

Vršanský, Peter; Bechly, Günter; Zhang, Qingqing; Jarzembowski, Edmund A.; Mlynský, Tomáš; Šmídová, Lucia; Barna, Peter; Kúdela, Matúš; Aristov, Daniil S.; Bigalk, Sonia; Krogmann, Lars; Li, Liqin; Zhang, Qi; Zhang, Haichun; Ellenberger, Sieghard; Müller, Patrick; Gröhn, Carsten; Xia, Fangyuan; Ueda, Kyoichiro; Vďačný, Peter; Valaška, Daniel; Vršanská, Lucia; Wang, Bo

doi:10.2478/s11756-018-0117-3

Cited by 44 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…The earliest occurrence of Batesian mimicry has been inferred in alienopterid cockroaches from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation in Brazil; this group of cockroaches also occurs in Burmese amber (Bai et al, 2016;Hinkelman, 2020;Vr sanský et al, 2018). Other cases of defensive mimicry in Burmese amber include a wasp-mimicking zhangsolvid fly (Grimaldi, 2016) and coleopterans possibly mimicking noxious net-winged beetles (Lycidae) (Bocá k et al, 2019;Poinar and Fanti, 2016).…”

Section: The Fossil Record Of Insect Mimicrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The earliest putative case of aggressive mimicry in vertebrates has been recognized in a Late Jurassic piranha-like pycnodontiform fish that likely used its close resemblance of harmless species to approach prey unnoticed (Kö lbl-Ebert et al, 2018). Cases of defensive mimicry in Mesozoic arthropods are rare (Hinkelman, 2020;Vr sanský et al, 2018) and no cases of aggressive mimicry have so far been demonstrated in fossil invertebrates Petr, 1996, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mimicry in Cretaceous Bugs

et al. 2020

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Mimicry is ubiquitous in nature, yet understanding its origin and evolution is complicated by the scarcity of exceptional fossils that enable behavioral inferences about extinct animals. Here we report bizarre true bugs (Hemiptera) that closely resemble beetles (Coleoptera) from mid-Cretaceous amber. The unusual fossil bugs are described as Bersta vampirica gen. et sp. nov. and Bersta coleopteromorpha gen. et sp. nov. and are placed into a new family, Berstidae fam. nov. The specialized mouthparts of berstids indicate that they were predaceous on small arthropods. Their striking beetle-like appearance implies that they were either involved in defensive mimicry or mimicked beetles to attack unsuspecting prey. The latter would represent the first case of aggressive mimicry in the invertebrate fossil record. These findings enrich our understanding of the paleoecological associations and extinct behavioral strategies of Mesozoic insects.

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Section: The Fossil Record Of Insect Mimicrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mimicry in Cretaceous Bugs

et al. 2020

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“…Cockroaches are also one of the most numerous Mesozoic fossil insects with about 30,000 collected specimens (Vršanský 2009) and 1,500 species extending from the Early Triassic to the Late Cretaceous (Cifuentes et al 2006;Vršanský 2009). Cockroaches from burmite show great diversity with predators, mimicking, camouflaged, standard, aposematic, parasitic, virus infected, holoptic-eyed, bipectinate antennate and aquatic specimens (Vršanský and Bechly 2015;Bai et al 2016Bai et al , 2018Poinar and Brown 2017;Vršanský and Wang 2017;Vršanský et al , 2018aVršanský et al , 2019aŠmídová and Lei 2017;Sendi and Azar 2017;Dmitriev et al 2018;Podstrelená and Sendi 2018;Kočárek 2018a, b;Li and Huang 2018;Qiu et al 2019a, b;Hinkelman 2019). Out of 11 alienopterid genera known, six of them are from Burmite: Alienopterus (Bai et al, 2016), Alienopterix (Mlynský et al, 2018), Aethiocarenus (Poinar et Brown, 2017), Caputoraptor (Bai et al, 2018), Alienopterella (Kočárek, 2018a), Teyia (Vršanský, Mlynský et Wang, 2018), Meilia (Vršanský et Wang, 2018), Vcelesvab (Vršanský, Barna et Bigalk, 2018), Apiblatta (Barna et Bigalk, 2018), Grant (Aristov, 2018), Chimaeroblattina (Barna, 2018) and an undescribed genus from Orapa in Botswana (McKay 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The earliest records of Batesian mimicry come from lower Palaeozoic trilobites (Eldredge 1980) and Cambrian brachiopods (Topper et al 2015). Vršanský et al (2018a) reported Alienopteridae cockroaches from amber and sediments with adaptations for mimicking ants and wasps as one of the earliest records of Batesian mimicry among insects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earliest behavioral mimicry and possible food begging in a Mesozoic alienopterid pollinator

Hinkelman

2019

Biologia

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Morphological insect-insect mimicry is known from few Cretaceous cockroaches and a beetle. Formicamendax vrsanskyi gen. et sp. n. (Blattaria, Alienopteridae) shows myrmecomorph features such as an elongated, smooth and black body, simple fenestrated hindwing, legs lacking protective spines. Elbowed or Bgeniculate Bantenna is a typical character of advanced ants and weevils used for different forms of communication. Together with reduced mouthparts and specialized palps still preserved grasping food, they evidence specialized behavioral mimicry. The attached symmetric angiosperm pollen on hindleg can provide rare evidence of insect-flower relations.

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“…There are several works concerning cockroaches and termites preserved in Mesozoic ambers written by Grimaldi & Ross (2004), Vršanský (2004), Vršanský et al (2018a), Vršanský et al (2018b), Vršanský (2009), Vršanský (2010), Anisyutkin & Gorochov (2008), Poinar Jr (2009), Vršanský et al (2011), Vršanský et al (2013a), Vršanský et al (2013b), Vršanský et al (2014), Vršanský et al (2018a), Vršanský et al (2018b), Vršanský et al (2018c), Vršanský et al (2019a), Vršanský et al. (2019b), Vršanský & Bechly (2015), Bai et al (2016), Bai et al (2018), Poinar Jr & Brown (2017), Sendi & Azar (2017), Šmídová & Lei (2017), Vršanský & Wang (2017), Kočárek (2018a), Kočárek (2018b), Li & Huang (2018), Mlynský, Wu, & Koubová (2019) and Podstrelená & Sendi (2018), Sidorchuk & Khaustov (2018), Qiu, Wang, & Che (2019a) and Qiu, Wang, & Che (2019b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living cockroach genusAnaplectadiscovered in Chiapas amber (Blattaria: Ectobiidae:Anaplecta vegasp.n.)

Barna

Šmídová

José³

2019

PeerJ

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Cenozoic cockroaches are recent and with two indigenous exceptions, based on their fragmentary preservation state, they cannot be discriminated formally from representatives of living genera. Anaplecta vega sp.n. –the second described cockroach from Miocene (23 Ma) Simojovel amber (Mexico: Chiapas: Los Pocitos) is characterized by a slender, under 5 mm long body, prolonged mouthparts bearing long maxillary palps with a distinct flattened triangular terminal palpomere, large eyes and long slender legs with distinctly long tibial spines. Some leg and palpal segments differ in dimensions on the left and right sides of the body, indicating (sum of length of left maxillary palpomeres 65% longer than right; right cercus 13% longer than left cercus) dextro-sinistral asymmetry. The asymmetrically monstrous left palp is unique and has no equivalent. In concordance with most Cenozoic species, the present cockroach does not show any significantly primitive characters such as a transverse pronotum characteristic for stem Ectobiidae. The genus is cosmopolitan and 10 species live also in Mexico, including Chiapas, today. Except for indigenous taxa and those characteristic for America, this is the first Cenozoic American cockroach taxon representing a living cosmopolitan genus, in contrast with representaties of Supella Shelford, 1911 from the same amber source that are now extinct in the Americas.

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Batesian insect-insect mimicry-related explosive radiation of ancient alienopterid cockroaches

Cited by 44 publications

References 61 publications

Mimicry in Cretaceous Bugs

Mimicry in Cretaceous Bugs

Earliest behavioral mimicry and possible food begging in a Mesozoic alienopterid pollinator

Living cockroach genusAnaplectadiscovered in Chiapas amber (Blattaria: Ectobiidae:Anaplecta vegasp.n.)

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