Mimarachnidae Explained

Mimarachnidae is an extinct family of planthoppers known from the Cretaceous period. Their name is derived from spots on the wings of the first described genera, Mimarachne and Saltissus, being suggestive of spider mimicry,^[1] but these characters are not distinctive for the family as a whole. The family is characterised by "simplified venation and setigerous metatibial pecten and hind leg armature".^[2] as well as "rounded anterior margin of pronotum, double carination of pronotum and mesonotum"

Genera

• †Ayaimatum Jiang & Szwedo in Jiang et al., 2020^[3] Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
  • †Ayaimatum trilobatum Jiang & Szwedo in Jiang et al., 2020
  • †Ayaimatum minutum Fu & Huang, 2021^[4]
• †Burmissus Shcherbakov, 2017^[5] Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
  • †Burmissus raunoi Shcherbakov, 2017
  • †Burmissus szwedoi Luo et al., 2020^[6]
  • †Burmissus latimaculatus Fu & Huang, 2020^[7]
• †Chalicoridulum Szwedo & Ansorge, 2015^[8] La Pedrera de Rúbies Formation, Spain, Barremian
  • †Chalicoridulum montsecensis Szwedo & Ansorge, 2015
• †Cretodorus Fu & Huang, 2020 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
  • †Cretodorus granulatus Fu & Huang, 2020
  • †Cretodorus angustus Fu & Huang, 2020
  • †Cretodorus rostellatus Zhang et al., 2021^[9]
• †Dachibangus Jiang et al., 2018^[10] Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
  • †Dachibangus formosus Fu et al., 2019^[11]
  • †Dachibangus hui Zhang, Yao & Pang, 2021^[12]
  • †Dachibangus trimaculatus Jiang et al., 2018
• †Jaculistilus Zhang et al., 2018^[13] Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
  • †Jaculistilus oligotrichus Zhang et al., 2018
• †Mimamontsecia Szwedo & Ansorge, 2015 La Pedrera de Rúbies Formation, Spain, Barremian
  • †Mimamontsecia cretacea Szwedo & Ansorge, 2015
• †Mimaplax Jiang et al., 2019 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
  • †Mimaplax ekrypsan Jiang et al., 2019
• †Mimaeurypterus Fu & Huang, 2021 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
  • †Mimaeurypterus burmiticus Fu & Huang, 2021
• †Mimarachne Shcherbakov, 2007 Zaza Formation, Russia, Aptian
  • †Mimarachne mikhailovi Shcherbakov, 2007
• †Multistria Zhang, Yao & Pang, 2021 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
  • †Multistria orthotropa Zhang, Yao & Pang, 2021
• †Nipponoridium Szwedo, 2008^[14] Kuwajima Formation, Japan, Lower Cretaceous
  • †Nipponoridium matsuoi Fujiyama, 1978^[15] (Formerly Fulgoridium)
• †Saltissus Shcherbakov, 2007
  • †Saltissus eskovi Shcherbakov, 2007 Zaza Formation, Russia, Aptian
  • †Saltissus fennahi Luo, Liu & Jarzembowski, 2021^[16] Weald Clay, England, Barremian

Undescribed specimens are known from the Early Cretaceous Turga and Khetana localities of Russia, the Barremian-Aptian Khurilt locality of Mongolia, and the Turonian Kzyl-Zhar locality of Kazakhstan.

Notes and References

1. 2007. Mesozoic spider mimics — Cretaceous Mimarachnidae fam.n. (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Russian Entomological Journal. 16. 3. 259–264.
2. Jiang. Tian. Szwedo. Jacek. Wang. Bo. 2019-09-11. A unique camouflaged mimarachnid planthopper from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Scientific Reports. 9. 1. 13112. 10.1038/s41598-019-49414-4. 31511621. 6739471. 2019NatSR...913112J. 202558214. 2045-2322. free.
3. JIANG Tian, SZWEDO Jacek, SONG Zhi-shun, CHEN Jun, LI Yu-ling and JIANG Hui. 2020. Ayaimatum trilobatum gen. et sp. nov. of Mimarachnidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) from mid-Cretaceous amber from Kachin (northern Myanmar). Acta Palaeontologica Sinica. 59. 1. 70–85.
4. Fu. Yanzhe. Huang. Diying. March 2021. New mimarachnids in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha). Cretaceous Research. en. 119. 104682. 10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104682. 226348494.
5. Shcherbakov. D. E.. December 2017. First record of the Cretaceous family Mimarachnidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea) in amber. Russian Entomological Journal . ru. 26. 1. 389–392. 10.15298/rusentj.26.4.12. 0132-8069. free.
6. Luo. Cihang. Jiang. Tian. Wang. Bo. Xiao. Chuantao. June 2020. A new species of Burmissus (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Mimarachnidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Cretaceous Research. en. 110. 104417. 10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104417. 214087107.
7. Fu. Yanzhe. Huang. Diying. 2020-06-30. New data on fossil mimarachnids (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Fulgoroidea) in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Palaeoentomology. 3. 3. 317–331. 10.11646/palaeoentomology.3.3.12. 225748001. 2624-2834.
8. Szwedo. Jacek. Ansorge. Jörg. January 2015. The first Mimarachnidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) from Lower Cretaceous lithographic limestones of the Sierra del Montsec in Spain. Cretaceous Research. en. 52. 390–401. 10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.001.
9. Zhang. Xiao. Yao. Yunzhi. Ren. Dong. Pang. Hong. August 2021. A new species of Cretodorus (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoroidea: Mimarachnidae) from Upper Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar. Cretaceous Research. 128. en. 104988. 10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104988. 238849433.
10. Jiang. Tian. Szwedo. Jacek. Wang. Bo. September 2018. A giant fossil Mimarachnidae planthopper from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha). Cretaceous Research. 89. 183–190. 10.1016/j.cretres.2018.03.020. 134776601. 0195-6671.
11. Fu. Yanzhe. Szwedo. Jacek. Azar. Dany. Huang. Diying. November 2019. A second species of Dachibangus (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Mimarachnidae) in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar. Cretaceous Research. en. 103. 104170. 10.1016/j.cretres.2019.06.016. 198407684.
12. Zhang. Xiao. Yao. Yunzhi. Ren. Dong. Pang. Hong. Chen. Huayan. 25 August 2021. New mimarachnids (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Fulgoroidea) in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. ZooKeys. 1057. 37–48. 34539197. 10.3897/zookeys.1057.66434 . 8410752 . Pensoft. free.
13. Zhang. Xiao. Ren. Dong. Yao. Yunzhi. October 2018. A new genus and species of Mimarachnidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoroidea) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Cretaceous Research. 90. 168–173. 10.1016/j.cretres.2018.04.012. 135407604. 0195-6671.
14. Szwedo. Jacek. 2008-12-01. Verbreitung und pläontologische Eigenheiten der unterkretazischen Mimarachnidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha).. Entomologia Generalis. 31. 3. 231–242. 10.1127/entom.gen/31/2008/231. 0171-8177.
15. I. Fujiyama. 1978. Some fossil insects from the Tedori Group (Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous), Japan. Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Series C, Geology & Paleontology 4:181-192
16. Luo. Cihang. Liu. Xiaojing. Jiang. Tian. Song. Zhishun. Jarzembowski. Edmund A.. 3 November 2021. The first mimarachnid planthopper (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Mimarachnidae: Saltissus) from the Wealden (Lower Cretaceous) of southern England. Historical Biology. 34 . 10 . 2031–2036. 10.1080/08912963.2021.1998035. 243487825.