The first fossil pycnocheiridiine pseudoscorpion (Pseudoscorpiones: Cheiridiidae: Procheiridium gen. nov.) from Cretaceous Burmese amber

Abstract

Procheiridium judsoni n. gen. et n. sp. is described from Burmese cretaceous amber. This species represents the earliest record of the pseudoscorpion subfamily Pycnocheiridiinae and the first fossil taxon of the subfamily to be recorded. The phylogenetic position of the new genus in the superfamily Cheiridioidea is discussed.

The second chthonioid pseudoscorpion (Pseudoscorpiones: Chthoniidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber: a new genus with unique morphological features and potential Gondwanan affinities

“…90-94 Ma) and Canadian amber (72-84 Ma; Harms & Dunlop 2017) whilst one described species, Heurtaultia rossiorium Judson, 2009 (Cheliferidae), comes from Archingeay amber (ca. 100 Ma) and five described species, Amblyolpium burmiticum Cockerell, 1920 (family Garypinidae), Electrobisium acutum Cockerell, 1917 (Cheiridiidae), Protocheiridium judsoni Porta, Michalik & Proud 2020 (Cheiridiidae), Protofeaella peetersae (Feaellidae) and Weygoldtiella plausus (Chthoniidae), from Burmese amber (Harms & Dunlop 2017, Porta et al 2020. Of all Mesozoic records, Burmese amber stands out because it not only includes a diverse and rich pseudoscorpion community but is also the only deposit that potentially originates in the former Gondwana (Harms & Dunlop 2017, see above).…”

First fossil species of family Hyidae (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) confirms 99 million years of ecological stasis in a Gondwanan lineage

“…Besides the oldest known pseudoscorpion, Dracochela deprehendor Schawaller, Shear & Bonamo, 1991 in the extinct family Dracochelidae Schawaller, Shear & Bonamo, 1991 from Mid-Devonian (~380–374 Ma) deposits in Gilboa, New York ( Schawaller, Shear & Bonamo, 1991 ; Judson, 2012 ), and the oldest known extant family record, Archaeofeaella hendericxi Kolesnikov et al, 2022 in Feaellidae Ellingsen, 1906 from Upper Triassic deposits in Ukraine ( Kolesnikov et al, 2022 ), all other pseudoscorpion fossils are found in Mesozoic or Cenozoic ambers ( Fig. 2 ) ( Cockerell, 1917 , 1920 ; Schawaller, Shear & Bonamo, 1991 ; Judson, 2009 , 2012 , 2017 ; Henderickx & Boone, 2016 ; Harms & Dunlop, 2017 ; Harvey et al, 2018 ; Porta et al, 2020 ; Wriedt et al, 2021 ; Geißler et al, 2022 ; Kolesnikov et al, 2022 ; Schwarze et al, 2022 ; Johnson et al, 2023 ; Stanczak et al, 2023 ; Novák et al, 2024 ; World Pseudoscorpion Catalog (WPC), 2024 ). Among Mesozoic ambers, twelve species have been described including Heurtaultia rossiorum Judson, 2009 in Cheliferidae Risso, 1827 from Lower Cretaceous (~102 Ma) Archingeay-Les Nouillers amber in France; Ajkagarypinus stephani Novák et al, 2024 from Upper Cretaceous, Santonian (~86–83 Ma) Ajkaite amber in Hungary; and 10 species in one extant genus and seven extinct genera in five extant families from Burmese amber: Electrobisium acutum Cockerell, 1917 and Procheiridium judsoni Porta et al, 2020 in Cheiridiidae Hansen, 1894; Amblyolpium burmiticum ( Cockerell, 1920 ) in Garypinidae Daday, 1889; Protofeaella peetersae Henderickx & Boone, 2016 in Feaellidae; Weygoldtiella plausus Harvey et al, 2018 , Prionochthonius burmiticus Wriedt et al, 2021 , Burmeochthonius kachinae Johnson et al, 2023 and Burmeochthonius muelleri Johnson et al, 2023 in Chthoniidae Daday, 1889; and Proalbiorix gracilis Geißler et al, 2022 and Proalbiorix compactus Geißler et al, 2022 in Ideoroncidae Chamberlin, 1930 ( Cockerell, 1917 …”

“…2 ) ( Cockerell, 1917 , 1920 ; Schawaller, Shear & Bonamo, 1991 ; Judson, 2009 , 2012 , 2017 ; Henderickx & Boone, 2016 ; Harms & Dunlop, 2017 ; Harvey et al, 2018 ; Porta et al, 2020 ; Wriedt et al, 2021 ; Geißler et al, 2022 ; Kolesnikov et al, 2022 ; Schwarze et al, 2022 ; Johnson et al, 2023 ; Stanczak et al, 2023 ; Novák et al, 2024 ; World Pseudoscorpion Catalog (WPC), 2024 ). Among Mesozoic ambers, twelve species have been described including Heurtaultia rossiorum Judson, 2009 in Cheliferidae Risso, 1827 from Lower Cretaceous (~102 Ma) Archingeay-Les Nouillers amber in France; Ajkagarypinus stephani Novák et al, 2024 from Upper Cretaceous, Santonian (~86–83 Ma) Ajkaite amber in Hungary; and 10 species in one extant genus and seven extinct genera in five extant families from Burmese amber: Electrobisium acutum Cockerell, 1917 and Procheiridium judsoni Porta et al, 2020 in Cheiridiidae Hansen, 1894; Amblyolpium burmiticum ( Cockerell, 1920 ) in Garypinidae Daday, 1889; Protofeaella peetersae Henderickx & Boone, 2016 in Feaellidae; Weygoldtiella plausus Harvey et al, 2018 , Prionochthonius burmiticus Wriedt et al, 2021 , Burmeochthonius kachinae Johnson et al, 2023 and Burmeochthonius muelleri Johnson et al, 2023 in Chthoniidae Daday, 1889; and Proalbiorix gracilis Geißler et al, 2022 and Proalbiorix compactus Geißler et al, 2022 in Ideoroncidae Chamberlin, 1930 ( Cockerell, 1917 , 1920 ; Judson, 2009 ; Henderickx & Boone, 2016 ; Harvey et al, 2018 ; Porta et al, 2020 ; Wriedt et al, 2021 ; Geißler et al, 2022 ; Johnson et al, 2023 ; Stanczak et al, 2023 ; Novák et al, 2024 ; World Pseudoscorpion Catalog (WPC), 2024 ). All remaining described fossil amber pseudoscorpions are only known from Cenozoic deposits (…”

First non‐amber Mesozoic pseudoscorpion from Upper Triassic deposits of eastern Europe, with a description of two new fossil subfamilies (Arachnida, Pseudoscorpiones, Feaellidae)

“…Currently, fossil pseudoscorpions are represented by 56 valid species, three of which are extant (Harms & Dunlop 2017;Harvey et al 2018;Porta et al 2020;Wriedt et al 2021;Schwarze et al 2021;Geißler et al 2022;etc. ) and belong to 16 families, of which only the Middle Devonian family Dracochelidae Schawaller et al, 1991 is not represented in the Recent fauna (Shear et al 1989;Schawaller et al 1991;Judson 2012).…”