2021 in insect paleontology

This list of fossil insects described in 2021 is a list of new taxa of fossil insects, that are scheduled to be described during the year 2021, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to insect paleontology that are scheduled to occur in the year 2021.

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New taxa

Coleopterans

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Country	Notes	Images
Aliattalus[1]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Tshernyshev	Late Eocene	Baltic amber	Europe (Baltic Sea region)	A member of the family Malachiidae. Genus includes new species A. intercalaris.
Baltosidis[2]	Gen. et 3 sp. nov	Valid	Szawaryn	Eocene	Baltic amber	Europe (Gdańsk Bay area)	A member of the family Coccinellidae belonging to the subfamily Microweiseinae and the tribe Microweiseini. The type species is B. damzeni; genus also includes B. damgaardi and B. szadziewskii.
Captopus[3]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Li & Cai in Li, Huang & Cai	Cretaceous (Albian or Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of the family Throscidae. The type species is C. depressiceps.
Chelonarium dominicanum[4]	Sp. nov	Valid	Poinar & Háva	Eocene or Miocene	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	A species of Chelonarium.
Cretocantharis[5]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Hsiao et al.	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A soldier beetle. The type species is C. veda.
Cretophengodes[6]	Fam. nov., Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Li, Kundrata, Tihelka & Cai in Li et al.	Cretaceous (Albian or Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of Elateroidea belonging to the new family Cretophengodidae. The type species is C. azari.
Electrothroscus[3]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Li & Cai in Li, Huang & Cai	Cretaceous (Albian or Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of the family Throscidae. The type species is E. yanpingae.
Glaesotropis rohdendorfi[7]	Sp. nov	Valid	Legalov, Nazarenko & Perkovsky	Eocene (Priabonian)	Rovno amber	Ukraine	A member of the family Anthribidae belonging to the subfamily Anthribinae and the tribe Zygaenodini.
Hukawngichthyurus maha[5]	Sp. nov	Valid	Hsiao et al.	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A soldier beetle.
Palaeocantharis[5]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Hsiao et al.	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A soldier beetle. The type species is P. panna.
Proptomaphaginus alleni[8]	Sp. nov	Valid	Perreau & Haelewaters in Perreau, Haelewaters & Tafforeau	Miocene	Dominican amber	Dominican Republic	A member of the family Leiodidae belonging to the tribe Ptomaphagini.
Pseudopactopus[3]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Li & Cai in Li, Huang & Cai	Cretaceous (Albian or Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of the family Throscidae. The type species is P. robustus.
Rheanischia[9]	Gen. et sp. nov		Li, Chang & Muona in Li et al.	Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian to Aptian)	Yixian Formation	China	A member of the family Eucnemidae belonging to the subfamily Anischiinae. The type species is R. brevicornis.
Toxorhynchus michalskii[10]	Sp. nov	Valid	Legalov	Eocene	Baltic amber	Europe (Baltic Sea region)	A member of the family Brentidae belonging to the subfamily Apioninae.
Zherikhiniellus[10]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Legalov	Eocene	Baltic amber	Europe (Baltic Sea region)	A member of the family Brentidae belonging to the subfamily Nanophyinae. Genus includes new species Z. rarus.

Dictyopterans

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Country	Notes	Images
Labradormantis[11]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Demers‐Potvin et al.	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Redmond Formation	Canada	A praying mantis belonging to the family Baissomantidae. Genus includes new species L. guilbaulti.
Lukotermes[12]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Perkovsky & Nel	Eocene (Priabonian)	Rovno amber	Ukraine	A termite belonging to the family Rhinotermitidae. Genus includes new species L. milescaput.

Dipterans

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Country	Notes	Images
Bibio castaneipennis[13]	Sp. nov	Valid	Skartveit & Wedmann	Oligocene		Germany	A species of Bibio.
Bibio succineus[14]	Sp. nov	Valid	Skartveit	Eocene	Baltic amber	Europe (Baltic Sea region)	A species of Bibio.
Stempellinella gilkai[15]	Sp. nov	Valid	Zakrzewska & Jankowska	Eocene	Baltic amber	Europe (Baltic Sea region)	A species of Stempellinella.

Hemipterans

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Country	Notes	Images
Aphelicophontes[16]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Swanson et al.	Eocene	Green River Formation	United States	A member of the family Reduviidae belonging to the subfamily Harpactorinae. Genus includes new species A. danjuddi.
Cretamystilus[17]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Kim, Lim & Jung	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of the family Miridae belonging to the tribe Mecistoscelini. Genus includes new species C. herczeki.
Duyana[18]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Chen et al.	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A leafhopper belonging to the subfamily Ledrinae. Genus includes new species D. electronica.

Hymenopterans

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Country	Notes	Images
Allommation[19]	Gen. et 3 sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of Apoidea. Genus includes new species A. procerum, A. elongatum and A. grande.
Ammosphecium[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of Apoidea. Genus includes new species A. diabolicum.
Anochetus miosumatrensis[20]	Sp. nov	Valid	Ngô-Muller, Garrouste & Nel in Ngô-Muller et al.	Miocene		Indonesia	An ant, a species of Anochetus.
Aulacicosmus[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of the family Heterogynaidae. Genus includes new species A. setosus.
Burmapyris[21]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Jouault, Perrichot & Nel	Cretaceous		Myanmar	A member of the family Bethylidae belonging to the subfamily Lancepyrinae. Genus includes new species B. azevedoi.
Cretastatus[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of Apoidea. Genus includes new species C. longevus.
Glenocephalus[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	An intermediate taxon between the apoid wasps and the bees. Genus includes new species G. mandibularis.
Haptodioctes[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	An intermediate taxon between the apoid wasps and the bees. Genus includes new species H. apiformis.
Helosericus[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of Psenini. Genus includes new species H. verrucosus.
Megarolium[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of Bembicinae. Genus includes new species M. paradoxum.
Odontosericus[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of Psenini. Genus includes new species O. burmensis.
Pristinopterus[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of Bembicinae. Genus includes new species P. spectabilis.
Pristopsen[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of Psenini. Genus includes new species P. obscurus.
Protopyris[21]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Jouault & Nel in Jouault, Perrichot & Nel	Early Cretaceous (Albian)	Hkamti amber	Myanmar	A member of the family Bethylidae belonging to the subfamily Lancepyrinae. Genus includes new species P. myanmarensis.
Ptilocosmus[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of the family Heterogynaidae. Genus includes new species P. corniculatus.
Spheciellus[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of Apoidea. Genus includes new species S. aenigmaticus.
Thigmocosmus[19]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Rosa & Melo	Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)	Burmese amber	Myanmar	A member of the family Heterogynaidae. Genus includes new species T. longicornis.

Other insects

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Country	Notes	Images
Anakitala[22]	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Aristov	Late Permian		Russia	A member of Polyneoptera belonging to the group Eoblattida and the family Mesorthopteridae. Genus includes new species A. intermittendia.
Baharellinus elegans[22]	Sp. nov	Valid	Aristov	Late Permian		Russia	A member of Polyneoptera belonging to the group Eoblattida and the family Blattogryllidae.
Contracladus[23]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Dvořák et al.	Carboniferous (Moscovian)		Germany	A member of Archaeorthoptera of uncertain phylogenetic placement. Genus includes new species C. impar.
Longiphlebia incompleta[24]	Sp. nov	In press	Lian, Cai & Huang	Late Jurassic	Tiaojishan Formation	China	A scorpionfly belonging to the family Orthophlebiidae.
Paraspiculum[23]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Dvořák et al.	Carboniferous (Moscovian)		Germany	A member of Archaeorthoptera belonging to the group Caloneurodea. Genus includes new species P. brauckmannii.
Piesbergopterum[23]	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Dvořák et al.	Carboniferous (Moscovian)		Germany	A member of Archaeorthoptera belonging to the group Cnemidolestodea. Genus includes new species P. punctatum.

Research

• Possible underwater mayfly burrows are described from the Turonian Ferron Sandstone (Utah, United States) by King et al. (2021), who interpret this finding as evidence that burrowing mayflies adapted to domicile filter-feeding during or prior to the Turonian, and name a new ichnospecies Glossifungites gingrasi.[25]
• A study on the phylogenetic placement of the family Umenocoleidae, based on data from a new specimen of Umenocoleus sinuatus from the Lower Cretaceous Zhonggou Formation (China), is published by Liuo et al. (2021).[26]
• The first known Cretaceous caterpillar armoured with spines is described from the Burmese amber by Haug & Haug (2021).[27]

References

1. Tshernyshev, S. E. (2021). "A new genus and species of soft-winged flower beetles (Coleoptera, Malachiidae) in Baltic amber". Paleontological Journal. 55 (1).
2. Szawaryn, K. (2021). "The first fossil Microweiseini (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from the Eocene of Europe and its significance for the reconstruction of the evolution of ladybird beetles". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Online edition. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa180.
3. Li, Y.; Huang, D.; Cai, C. (2021). "New genera and species of the family Throscidae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber". Insects. 12 (1): Article 63. doi:10.3390/insects12010063.
4. Poinar, G.; Háva, J. (2021). "The first representative of the beetle family Chelonariidae in Dominican amber". Palaeodiversity. 14 (1): 1–4. doi:10.18476/pale.v14.a1.
5. Hsiao, Y.; Li, Y.; Ren, D.; Pang, H. (2021). "Morphological phylogenetics provide new insights into the classification and evolution of fossil soldier beetles from Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Cantharidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Online edition. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa184.
6. Li, Y.; Kundrata, R.; Tihelka, E.; Liu, Z.; Huang, D.; Cai, C. (2021). "Cretophengodidae, a new Cretaceous beetle family, sheds light on the evolution of bioluminescence". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 288 (1943): Article ID 20202730. doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.2730. PMID 33468008.
7. Legalov, A. A.; Nazarenko, V. Y.; Perkovsky, E. E. (2021). "A new species of the genus Glaesotropis Gratshev and Zherikhin, 1995 (Coleoptera, Anthribidae) from Rovno amber". Fossil Record. 24 (1): 1–7. doi:10.5194/fr-24-1-2021.
8. Perreau, M.; Haelewaters, D.; Tafforeau, P. (2021). "A parasitic coevolution since the Miocene revealed by phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray microtomography and the study of natural history collections". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): Article number 2672. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-79481-x. PMC 7846571. PMID 33514784.
9. Li, H.; Chang, H.; Muona, J.; Zhao, Y.; Ren, D. (2021). "Subfamily Anischiinae (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae) in Early Cretaceous of Northeast China". Insects. 12 (2): Article 105. doi:10.3390/insects12020105.
10. Legalov, A. A. (2021). "New weevils of the family Brentidae (Coleoptera) in Baltic amber". Paleontological Journal. 55 (1).
11. Demers‐Potvin, A. V.; Larsson, H. C. E.; Cournoyer, M.; Béthoux, O. (2021). "Wing morphology of a new Cretaceous praying mantis solves the phylogenetic jigsaw of early‐diverging extant lineages". Systematic Entomology. 46 (1): 205–223. doi:10.1111/syen.12457.
12. Perkovsky, E. E.; Nel, A. (2021). "A new Rovno amber termite genus (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) from Styr river basin". Palaeontologia Electronica. 24 (1): Article number 24.1.a05. doi:10.26879/1127.
13. Skartveit, J.; Wedmann, S. (2021). "A revision of fossil Bibionidae (Insecta: Diptera) from the Oligocene of Germany". Zootaxa. 4909 (1): 1–77. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4909.1.1.
14. Skartveit, J. (2021). "A new fossil species of the genus Bibio, with an update on bibionid flies from Baltic and Rovno amber (Diptera, Bibionidae)". Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift. 68 (1): 81–99. doi:10.3897/dez.68.60611.
15. Zakrzewska, M.; Jankowska, A. (2021). "A new fossil Stempellinella from Eocene Baltic amber, with systematic notes and amendment of the generic diagnosis (Diptera: Chironomidae)". Zootaxa. 4908 (4): 505–514. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4908.4.4.
16. Swanson, D. R.; Heads, S. W.; Taylor, S. J.; Wang, Y. (2021). "A new remarkably preserved fossil assassin bug (Insecta, Heteroptera, Reduviidae) from the Eocene Green River Formation of Colorado". Papers in Palaeontology. Online edition. doi:10.1002/spp2.1349.
17. Kim, J.; Lim, H.; Jung, S. (2021). "A first member of bamboo-feeding lineage plant bug (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Mecistoscelini) in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber". Cretaceous Research. 121: Article 104741. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104741.
18. Chen, J.; Jiang, H.; Shang, T.; Zhang, L.; Zheng, Y.; Zhang, Q.; Zhang, H. (2021). "The second leafhopper of the subfamily Ledrinae (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber". Cretaceous Research. in press: Article 104763. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104763.
19. Rosa, B. B.; Melo, G. A. R. (2021). "Apoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar". Cretaceous Research. in press: Article 104770. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104770.
20. Ngô-Muller, V.; Garrouste, R.; Schubnel, T.; Pouillon, J.-M.; Christophersen, V.; Christophersen, N.; Nel, A. (2021). "The first representative of the trap-jaw ant genus Anochetus Mayr, 1861 in Neogene amber from Sumatra (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 20 (2): 21–27. doi:10.5852/cr-palevol2021v20a2.
21. Jouault, C.; Perrichot, V.; Nel, A. (2021). "New flat wasps from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber deposits highlight the bethylid antiquity and paleobiogeography (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea)". Cretaceous Research. in press: Article 104772. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104772.
22. Aristov, D. S. (2021). "New eoblattid insects (Insecta: Eoblattida) from Upper Permian of Russia". Paleontological Journal. 55 (1).
23. Dvořák, T.; Pecharová, M.; Leipner, A.; Nel, A.; Prokop, J. (2021). "New archaeorthopteran insects from the Pennsylvanian of Piesberg reveal unexpected mosaic of morphological traits and colouration pattern of the tegmina". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. in press. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1867127.
24. Lian, X.; Cai, C.; Huang, D. (2021). "A new orthophlebiid scorpionfly (Insecta, Orthophlebiidae) from the Late Jurassic Linglongta biota of northern China". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. in press. doi:10.1080/08912963.2021.1878512.
25. King, M. R.; La Croix, A. D.; Gates, T. A.; Anderson, P. B.; Zanno, L. E. (2021). "Glossifungites gingrasi n. isp., a probable subaqueous insect domicile from the Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone, Utah". Journal of Paleontology. Online edition. doi:10.1017/jpa.2020.115.
26. Liuo, C.-H.; Beutel, R. G.; Thomson, U. R; Zheng, D.-R.; Li, J.-H.; Zhao, X.-Y.; Zhang, H.-C.; Wang, B. (2021). "Beetle or roach: systematic position of the enigmatic Umenocoleidae based on new material from Zhonggou Formation in Jiuquan, Northwest China, and a morphocladistic analysis". Palaeoworld. in press. doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2021.01.003.
27. Haug, J. T.; Haug, C. (2021). "A 100 million-year-old armoured caterpillar supports the early diversification of moths and butterflies". Gondwana Research. in press. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2021.01.009.