2026/06/02 by Liliya Štarhová Serbina, Ulrich Kotthoff, Daniel Burckhardt · 2 voices
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Fossil Insects in Amber #Phytoplasmas and Hemiptera pathogens #Study of Mite Species
paper · doi:10.3897/evolsyst.10.190431
openalex publication_date 2026/06/02 · openalex created_date 2026/06/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Caillardia sueva Burckhardt, Serbina & Kotthoff, sp. nov ., a new species of jumping plant lice (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Psylloidea), is described from the Early/Middle Miocene deposits of the Randeck Maar (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) based on the imprints of a single male specimen. It represents the first Miocene record of the subfamily Aphalarinae (Aphalaridae) from Europe. The fossil is assigned to the genus Caillardia , based on the absence of genal processes, the transversely rectangular pronotum (in dorsal view), the shape, venation and pattern of the forewings, as well as the comparatively large male subgenital plate. This discovery draws attention to this neglected and often overlooked insect group and it is hoped that more fossils may be discovered in European Miocene deposits.