Aptenoperissus Explained

Aptenoperissus is a genus of extinct wasp with eight described species, placed into the monotypic family Aptenoperissidae. The type species Aptenoperissus burmanicus resembles a mix between a grasshopper, an ant, and a wasp. It was described by a group of researchers from Oregon State University in a paper released online in October 2016.^[1] The piece of 100 million year old Burmese amber that it was preserved in was found in the Hukawng Valley of Myanmar in Southern Asia. A new family, Aptenoperissidae, was described to accommodate this insect. Species of Aptenoperissus were wingless, with a strong stinger. The creature had long legs making it capable of jumping higher than most insects.^[2] Subsequently additional species were described from the Myanmar amber: A. amabilis, A. delicatus, A. formosus,^[3] A. etius, A. magnifemoris, A. pusillus^[4] and A. zonalis.^[5] Initially placed in Ceraphronoidea, later studies placed it in Stephanoidea.

Notes and References

1. News: Williams. Kale. Oregon State researchers discover ancient wingless wasp species encased in prehistoric amber. 13 October 2016. The Oregonian/OregonLive. October 11, 2016.
2. Rasnitsyn. A.P.. Poinar. George. Brown. Alex E.. Bizzare [sic] wingless parasitic wasp from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hymenoptera, Ceraphronoidea, Aptenoperissidae fam. nov.). Cretaceous Research. 69. 2017. 113–118. 0195-6671. 10.1016/j.cretres.2016.09.003. 2017CrRes..69..113R .
3. Zhang . Q. . Rasnitsyn . A.P. . Wang . B. . Zhang . H. . 2018 . New data about the enigmatic wasp from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hymenoptera, Stephanoidea, Aptenoperissidae) . Cretaceous Research . 84 . 173–180 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2017.10.024 . 2018CrRes..84..173Z .
4. Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn . Christoph Öhm-Kühnle . 2018 . Three new female Aptenoperissus from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hymenoptera, Stephanoidea, Aptenoperissidae): Unexpected diversity of paradoxical wasps suggests insular features of source biome . Cretaceous Research . 91 . 168–175 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2018.06.004 . 2018CrRes..91..168R .
5. Qi Zhang . Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn . Haichun Zhang . 2018 . New female of Aptenoperissus from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hymenoptera, Stephanoidea, Aptenoperissidae) . Cretaceous Research . 92 . 8–11 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2018.07.015 . 2018CrRes..92....8Z .