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1. A new leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from late Eocene Rovno amber described based on an adult and associated last-instar nymph from Perebrody (Ukraine)

   https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.4.5.10  

   DIETRICH, CHRISTOPHER H.; DMITRIEV, DMITRY A.; PERKOVSKY, EVGENY E. (September 2021, Palaeoentomology)

   Rovnoxestus rasnitsyni gen. & sp. nov. is described from Eocene Rovno amber based on an adult female and fifth-instar nymph collected at a recently discovered locality at Perebrody, Rovno Province, Ukraine. The new fossil taxon is tentatively placed in Aphrodinae and resembles Xestocephalites Dietrich & Gonçalves from Eocene Baltic amber but has the hind femur macrosetal formula 2+2+1 and hind tarsomere I in both nymph and adult with an elongated inner preapical seta. This is the first species of Eocene leafhopper for which both the adult and nymph are described in detail. 

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2. Solenopsis (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) thief ants in Dominican amber and putative subfossil resin

   https://doi.org/10.3897/fr.29.181268  

   Bouju, Valentine; Chény, Cédric; Gotzek, Dietrich; Perrichot, Vincent; Fernandez, Fernando; Barden, Phillip; Fiorentino, Gianpiero (July 2026, Fossil Record)

   Solenopsisis a diverse genus of myrmicine ants with a global distribution. Several extinct species have been described but these occurrences are limited to the Palaearctic as imprint fossils. Wilson (1985, 1988) mentioned specimens ofSolenopsispreserved in Dominican amber (Middle Miocene, ca. 16 Ma), though these have not been formally described. Through ethanol exposure and Raman spectroscopy, we assessed the provenance of several putative amber specimens in museum collections. We identified multiple instances of labeled amber specimens that are instead most likely subfossil copal or recent resin – these include specimens in a historical collection. Based on material with provenance and properties consistent with fossil resin, or, amber, we report five new fossil species of minor workers attributed to the genusSolenopsis:S. lamellatasp. nov.,S. pilonariasp. nov.,S. merenguesp. nov.,S. viralatasp. nov., andS. picapicasp. nov. One of the species described,S. lamellatasp. nov., is highly aberrant, possessing a spine-like lamella on the posterior margin of the propodeum, a trait not shared with any knownSolenopsisspecies. The discovery of these five fossil species sheds light on the biogeographic history of the genusSolenopsis. Beyond ants, these results highlight the need for caution in assuming the provenance of specimens from museum collections and commercial sources. 

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3. A hyperdiverse ant fauna from Dominican amber

   Fiorentino, G; Ladino, N; Mera-Rodríguez, D; Cubillos, D; Cavalcanti, J P; Probst, R; Blaimer, B B; Camacho, G P; Fernández, F; Feitosa, R M; et al (August 2026, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History)

   Neotropical ants are diverse and globally distinct. Although ants have occupied this region since the Lower Cretaceous, there are few windows into the history of this fauna. Ant fossils from Miocene Dominican amber, a Konservat-Lagerstätte on the island of Hispaniola, are an exception. The fossil assemblage preserved in Dominican amber is diverse, comprising 87 previously described species from 34 genera. Here we describe a further 25 species, 24 representing genera previously unknown from this deposit. The ant assemblage is remarkably modern—out of 59 genera, 53 persist in the Neotropics today—but it evidences a dynamic insular ecosystem. Fossil taxa are surprisingly distinct from the modern ant assemblage of Hispaniola and exhibit approximately 25% greater generic diversity. With 11 contemporary genera now locally extinct on the island, the fossil record also points to significant faunal turnover; a pattern affecting both specialist and generalist taxa. Nineteen of the genera reported here reinforce strong affinities with other Neotropical fossil and extant faunas, par- ticularly the Miocene Chiapas amber assemblage. However, we also report three taxa with clear Old World biogeographic links, suggesting previously widespread distributions for several lineages now restricted to the Paleotropics. 

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4. Morphology-based Phylogenetic Analysis of Membracoidea (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha) With Placement of Fossil Taxa and Description of a New Subfamily

   https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixac021  

   Dietrich, Christopher H; Dmitriev, Dmitry A; Takiya, Daniela M; Thomas, M Jared; Webb, Michael D; Zahniser, James N; Zhang, Yalin (September 2022, Insect Systematics and Diversity)

   Yoshizawa, Kazunori (Ed.)

   Abstract Recently discovered amber-preserved fossil Cicadellidae exhibit combinations of morphological traits not observed in the modern fauna and have the potential to shed new light on the evolution of this highly diverse family. To place the fossils explicitly within a phylogenetic context, representatives of five extinct genera from Cretaceous Myanmar amber, and one from Eocene Baltic amber were incorporated into a matrix comprising 229 discrete morphological characters and representatives of all modern subfamilies. Phylogenetic analyses yielded well resolved and largely congruent estimates that support the monophyly of most previously recognized cicadellid subfamilies and indicate that the treehoppers are derived from a lineage of Cicadellidae. Instability in the morphology-based phylogenies is mainly confined to deep internal splits that received low branch support in one or more analyses and also were not consistently resolved by recent phylogenomic analyses. Placement of fossil taxa is mostly stable across analyses. Three new Cretaceous leafhopper genera, Burmotettix gen. nov., Kachinella gen nov., and Viraktamathus gen. nov., consistently form a monophyletic group distinct from extant leafhopper subfamilies and are placed in Burmotettiginae subfam. nov. Extinct Cretaceous fossils previously placed in Ledrinae and Signoretiinae are recovered as sister to modern representatives of these groups. Eomegophthalmus Dietrich and Gonçalves from Baltic amber consistently groups with a lineage comprising treehoppers, Megophthalminae, Ulopinae, and Eurymelinae but its position is unstable. Overall, the morphology-based phylogenetic estimates agree with recent phylogenies based on molecular data alone suggesting that morphological traits recently used to diagnose subfamilies are generally informative of phylogenetic relationships within this group. 

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5. An Enigmatic Miniaturized and Attenuate Whole Lizard from the Mid-Cretaceous Amber of Myanmar

   https://doi.org/doi.org/10.3099/MCZ49.1  

   DAZA, JD; BAUER, AM; STANLEY, EL; BOLET, A; DICKSON, B; LOSOS, JB (November 2018, Breviora)

   We report the discovery of a new genus and species of amber-preserved lizard from the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar. The fossil is one of the smallest and most complete Cretaceous lizards ever found, preserving both the articulated skeleton and remains of the muscular system and other soft tissues. Despite its completeness, its state of preservation obscures important diagnostic features.We determined its taxonomic allocation using two approaches: we used previously identified autapomorphies of squamates that were observable in the fossil; and we included the fossil in a large squamate morphological data set. The apomorphy-based identification of this specimen, including comparative data on trunk elongation in squamates, suggests its allocation to the stem-group Anguimorpha. Results from the phylogenetic analysis places the fossil in one of four positions: as sister taxon of either Shinisaurus crocodilurus or Parasaniwa wyomingensis, at the root of Varanoidea, or in a polytomy with Varanoidea and a fossorial group retrieved in a previous assessment of squamate relationships. It is clear that this fossil has many similarities with anguimorph squamates and, if this taxonomic allocation is correct, this fossil would represent the first amber-preserved member of stem Anguimorpha ever recorded, and the smallest known member of that group. It further emphasizes the role of amber inclusions in expanding our understanding of the diversity of Cretaceous lizard communities. 

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