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1. A New Genus and Species Representing the First Leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from Eocene Rovno Amber

   https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.3.2.7  

   DIETRICH, CHRISTOPHER H. ; PERKOVSKY, EVGENY E. ( April 2020 , Palaeoentomology)

   null (Ed.)

   Rovnotettix brachypterus gen. et sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Eocene Rovno (Ukraine) amber and tentatively placed in subfamily Bathysmatophorinae, tribe Malmaemichungiini. The new fossil is the first cicadellid described from Rovno amber from the Volyn region and the second brachypterous leafhopper adult described from the fossil record. It does not appear to be closely related to Brevaphrodella Dietrich & Gonçalves from Eocene Baltic amber, indicating that multiple flightless cicadellid lineages, now mostly associated with dry habitats with patchy vegetation, had evolved in Europe by the Eocene. 

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2. Inbreeding depression in a sexually selected weapon and the homologue in females

   https://doi.org/10.1093/jeb/voad011  

   Allen, Pablo E. ; Miller, Christine W. ( December 2023 , Journal of Evolutionary Biology)

   Theory predicts that traits with heightened condition dependence, such as sexually selected traits, should be affected by inbreeding to a greater degree than other traits. The presence of environmental stress may compound the negative consequences of inbreeding depression. In this study, we examined inbreeding depression across multiple traits and whether it increased with a known form of environmental stress. We conducted our experiment using both sexes of the sexually dimorphic leaf-footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata (Hemiptera: Coreidae). Adult male cactus bugs have enlarged hind legs used as weapons in male–male contests; these traits, and their homologue in females, have been previously found to exhibit high condition dependence. In this study, we employed a small developmental group size as an environmental stress challenge. Nymph N. femorata aggregate throughout their juvenile stages, and previous work has shown the negative effects of small group size on survivorship and body size. We found evidence of inbreeding depression for survival and seven of the eight morphological traits measured in both sexes. Inbreeding depression was higher for the size of the male weapon and the female homolog. Additionally, small developmental group size negatively affected survival to adulthood. However, small group size did not magnify the effects of inbreeding on morphological traits. These findings support the hypothesis that traits with heightened condition dependence exhibit higher levels of inbreeding depression.

    

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3. Fossil soldier beetles (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) of the Georg Statz Collection from the Oligocene Rott Formation, Germany

   https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.2.5.13  

   Fanti, Fabrizio ; Walker, Lindsay J. ( January 2019 , Palaeoentomology)

   Specimens of the family Cantharidae Imhoff, 1856 from the Georg Statz Collection (latest Oligocene, Rott Formation, Germany) are studied. Six specimens are relatively complete for species-level determinations, including one with a partial aedeagus visible, a first for soldier beetles preserved as compressions. The new species herein described include: Cantharis (Cantharis) bradburyi sp. nov., C. (C.) lidiae sp. nov., C. (C.) rottensis sp. nov., Podistra (Absidia) quies sp. nov., Rhagonycha (Rhagonycha) carolynae sp. nov. and R. (R.) ultramundana sp. nov.. Notably, these genera are still found in Germany and the present report thus provides support for earlier occurrences of Cantharis, Podistra, and Rhagonycha from the Eocene Baltic amber. 

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4. Hirsutisoma grimaldii sp. nov., a ca. 99-million-year-old ricinuleid (Primoricinulei, Hirsutisomidae) from Cretaceous Burmese amber with a corticolous, scansorial lifestyle

   https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.5.5.11  

   BOTERO-TRUJILLO, RICARDO ; DAVIS, STEVEN R. ; MICHALIK, PETER ; PRENDINI, LORENZO ( September 2022 , Palaeoentomology)

   Ricinulei Thorell, 1876 is an order of Arachnida currently represented in the New and Old Worlds by 103 living species. The order is also represented in the fossil record from the Carboniferous (ca. 305–319 Ma) and the Cretaceous (ca. 99 Ma) periods. In the present contribution, Hirsutisoma grimaldii sp. nov., a new extinct species of the suborder Primoricinulei Wunderlich, 2015, is described from a specimen preserved in Cretaceous Burmese amber. The specimen is a well-preserved adult male in which several taxonomically informative structures are visible, allowing the new species to be differentiated from Hirsutisoma bruckschi Wunderlich, 2017, the only other congener for which a male is known. This description raises the number of Cretaceous Ricinulei species to six. A comparative table documents morphological differences among the various species of this lineage. Hypotheses concerning the paleoecology and functional morphology of this species and, by extrapolation, other primoricinuleids, are presented. The evidence suggests that Primoricinulei were corticolous, scansorial predators. 

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5. Sexual dimorphism and growth in Alouatta palliata based on 20+ years of field data

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24055  

   Runestad Connour, Jacqueline ; Glander, Kenneth E. ( May 2020 , American Journal of Physical Anthropology)

   Alouatta palliatapatterns of growth and sexual dimorphism are evaluated using 20 plus years of field data. Comparisons are made to other species ofAlouattaand other New World primates.

   Records of 92A. palliatafrom Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, were used to generate growth curves for body mass and linear measurements. Timing of growth for the properties was compared, and males and females were contrasted. Slopes and elevations for periods of rapid growth were evaluated. Growth allometry and proportion ratios were also explored.

   Body mass growth is rapid during the first 2 years. Males and females begin to diverge around a year of age as male growth increases and female growth slows. Adult mass for both is reached about 4 years of age. Linear measurements show rapid growth the first 18 months for both sexes. Differences develop as males continue the same rate of linear growth while female growth slows. Adult size is reached for head and body length around 3 years, and for hind‐foot and tail lengths around 2 years.

   A. palliatamales grow in mass more rapidly than females, while both grow similarly in linear dimensions, so that dimorphism is more pronounced in mass. This pattern is seen in other dimorphic New World primates. MaleA. palliatamay grow more rapidly thanA. seniculus, reflecting earlier emigration forA. palliatamales. Linear dimensions reach adult proportions earlier than body mass. For hind‐foot and tail, this is probably an adaptation for gripping.

    

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