The fossil record of Phasmida (Insecta: Neoptera)

Tilgner, Erich

doi:10.1163/187631200x00507

Cited by 33 publications

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“…It indicates a minimum age of the origin of Phylliinae of 47 million years. The advanced systematic placement of Phylliinae among Euphasmatodea (7,17) might contradict the assumption that pre-Cenozoic phasmids did not exist (8). This hypothesis may be supported by the record of a fossil member of the Timematodea from Baltic amber (10).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The first fossil leaf insect: 47 million years of specialized cryptic morphology and behavior

Wedmann

Bradler

Rust

2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

110

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Stick and leaf insects (insect order Phasmatodea) are represented primarily by twig-imitating slender forms. Only a small percentage (≈1%) of extant phasmids belong to the leaf insects (Phylliinae), which exhibit an extreme form of morphological and behavioral leaf mimicry. Fossils of phasmid insects are extremely rare worldwide. Here we report the first fossil leaf insect, Eophyllium messelensis gen. et sp. nov., from 47-million-year-old deposits at Messel in Germany. The new specimen, a male, is exquisitely preserved and displays the same foliaceous appearance as extant male leaf insects. Clearly, an advanced form of extant angiosperm leaf mimicry had already evolved early in the Eocene. We infer that this trait was combined with a special behavior, catalepsy or “adaptive stillness,” enabling Eophyllium to deceive visually oriented predators. Potential predators reported from the Eocene are birds, early primates, and bats. The combination of primitive and derived characters revealed by Eophyllium allows the determination of its exact phylogenetic position and illuminates the evolution of leaf mimicry for this insect group. It provides direct evidence that Phylliinae originated at least 47 Mya. Eophyllium enlarges the known geographical range of Phylliinae, currently restricted to southeast Asia, which is apparently a relict distribution. This fossil leaf insect bears considerable resemblance to extant individuals in size and cryptic morphology, indicating minimal change in 47 million years. This absence of evolutionary change is an outstanding example of morphological and, probably, behavioral stasis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Until now, only a few enigmatic members of the Euphasmatodea, a basal clade of the Phasmatodea (7), have been documented in the fossil record, mainly as nymphs from Baltic and Dominican amber (8)(9)(10). The first fossil representative of Timematodea, the basal-most extant phasmid lineage, was recently described from Baltic amber (10).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The first fossil leaf insect: 47 million years of specialized cryptic morphology and behavior

Wedmann

Bradler

Rust

2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

110

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“…Recently this view has been questioned by preliminary molecular clock analyses (Buckley et al , ), favouring a much younger origin of extant taxa (probably after the K‐T boundary, ˜65 Ma), and, consequently, a high number of transoceanic dispersal events. Fossils documenting these periods are scarce, and more ancient phasmatodean fossils may or may not be related to the extant crown group at all (Tilgner, ; Bradler & Buckley, ). These uncertainties highlight the need to explore further sources of evidence and ask for a much denser taxon sampling of stick and leaf insects for future studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A molecular phylogeny of Phasmatodea with emphasis on Necrosciinae, the most species‐rich subfamily of stick insects

Bradler

Robertson

Whiting

2014

Systematic Entomology

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The phasmatodeans or stick and leaf insects are considered to be a mesodiverse insect order with more than 3000 species reported mainly from the tropics. The stick insect subfamily Necrosciinae comprises approximately 700 described species in more than 60 genera from the Oriental and Australian region, forming the most species‐rich subfamily traditionally recognized within Phasmatodea. However, the monophyly of this taxon has never been thoroughly tested and the evolutionary relationships among its members are unknown. We analyse three nuclear (18S and 28S rDNA, histone 3) and three mitochondrial (CO II, 12S and 16S rDNA) genes to infer the phylogeny of 60 species of stick insects that represent all recognized families and major subfamilies sensu Günther and the remarkable diversity within Necrosciinae. Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian techniques largely recover the same substantial clades, albeit with highly discordant relationships between them. Most members of the subfamily Necrosciinae form a clade. However, the genus Neohirasea – currently classified within Lonchodinae – is strongly supported as subordinate to Necrosciinae, whereas Baculofractum, currently classified within Necrosciinae, is strongly supported within Lonchodinae. Accordingly, we formally transfer Neohirasea and allied taxa (namely Neohiraseini) to Necrosciinae sensu nova (s.n.) and Baculofractum to Lonchodinae s.n. We also provide further evidence that Leprocaulinus, until recently recognized as Necrosciinae, belongs to Lonchodinae, and forms the sister taxon of Baculofractum. Furthermore, Lonchodinae is paraphyletic under exclusion of Eurycantha and Neopromachus. We reinstate the traditional view that Neopromachus and related taxa (Neopromachini sensu Günther) are a subgroup of Lonchodinae and transfer those taxa + the New Guinean Eurycanthinae accordingly. Morphological evidence largely corroborates our molecular‐based findings and also reveals that Menexenus fruhstorferi is a member of the genus Neohirasea and is thus transferred from Menexenus (Lonchodinae) to Neohirasea, as Neohirasea fruhstorferi comb.n. (Necrosciinae s.n.). Other phylogenetic results include Areolatae and Anareolatae each supported as polyphyletic, Heteropteryginae and Lanceocercata (Bayesian analysis) are monophyletic, albeit with low support, and Necrosciinae s.n. and Lonchodinae s.n. are recovered as sister taxa (Bayesian analysis).

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“…The Orthopterida hypothesis is weakened by the fact that the precostal field does only occur in fossil members of the former group (Willmann 2003). Moreover, it is questionable that these extinct species are indeed phasmids (Tilgner 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the head morphology ofPhylliumand the phylogenetic relationships of Phasmatodea (Insecta)

et al. 2011

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Friedemann K., Wipfler B., Bradler S. and Beutel R.G. 2011. On the head morphology of Phyllium and the phylogenetic relationships of Phasmatodea (Insecta). —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 00: 1–16. External and internal head structures of Phyllium siccifolium are described in detail. The findings are compared with conditions found in other phasmatodeans and members of other neopteran lineages. The compiled 125 characters were analysed cladistically. A clade Eukinolabia (Phasmatodea + Embioptera) was confirmed. Synapomorphies of these two taxa are the shift of the origin of M. tentorioparaglossalis to the hind margin of the prementum, the presence of M. tentorioscapalis medialis, and antennal muscles that originate exclusively on the anterior tentorial arms. Within Eukinolabia, the position of Timema remains somewhat ambiguous because of missing anatomical data. However, it was confirmed as sister group of Euphasmatodea in a monophyletic Phasmatodea. Apomorphic groundplan features of Euphasmatodea are salivary ducts with separate external openings, apically rounded glossae, the presence of the galealobulus, and the reduction of the antennifer. The monophyly of Neophasmatidae was confirmed. Autapomorphies are the loss of M. frontobuccalis posterior, the anteriorly or dorsally directed maxillary palps, and the reduction of the mandibular incisivi. The analysis of characters of the head yielded three new autapomorphies of Phylliinae, the presence of a protuberance on the attachment site of the dorsal tentorial arms, dorsoventrally flattened maxillary‐ and labial palps, and possibly the narrow and U‐shaped field of trichomes on the apical part of the galea.

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The fossil record of Phasmida (Insecta: Neoptera)

Cited by 33 publications

References 0 publications

The first fossil leaf insect: 47 million years of specialized cryptic morphology and behavior

The first fossil leaf insect: 47 million years of specialized cryptic morphology and behavior

A molecular phylogeny of Phasmatodea with emphasis on Necrosciinae, the most species‐rich subfamily of stick insects

On the head morphology ofPhylliumand the phylogenetic relationships of Phasmatodea (Insecta)

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