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. 2015 Aug 12;10(8):e0133330.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133330. eCollection 2015.

Morphological and behavioral convergence in extinct and extant bugs: the systematics and biology of a new unusual fossil lace bug from the eocene

Torsten Wappler  1 , Eric Guilbert  2 , Conrad C Labandeira  3 , Thomas Hörnschemeyer  4 , Sonja Wedmann  5
Affiliations

Morphological and behavioral convergence in extinct and extant bugs: the systematics and biology of a new unusual fossil lace bug from the eocene

Torsten Wappler et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The bug Gyaclavator kohlsi Wappler, Guilbert, Wedmann et Labandeira, gen. et sp. nov., represents a new extinct genus of lace bugs (Insecta: Heteroptera: Tingidae) occurring in latest early Eocene deposits of the Green River Formation, from the southern Piceance Basin of Northwestern Colorado, in North America. Gyaclavator can be placed within the Tingidae with certainty, perhaps it is sistergroup to Cantacaderinae. If it belongs to Cantacaderinae, it is the first fossil record of this group for North America. Gyaclavator has unique, conspicuous antennae bearing a specialized, highly dilated distiflagellomere, likely important for intra- or intersex reproductive competition and attraction. This character parallels similar antennae in leaf-footed bugs (Coreidae), and probably is associated with a behavioral convergence as well.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Locations of Green River Formation and fossil sites.
A. Overview of continental USA (copyright 2004 Jared Benedict, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License) with inset. B. Uinta-Piceance Basin of Green River Formation in Utah and Colorado. Red dots mark locations where fossils were found, 1 = Old Mountain Site, 2 = Denson Site; the black line outlines former Lake Uinta.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Different aspects on the morphology of Gyaclavator kohlsi gen. et sp. nov.
A. Holotype. USNM 578190; photomicrograph of male in ventral view. B. Drawing of the holotype as preserved. C. Enlargement of ventral aspect of the head, arrows indicating the position of the bucculae (central) and the antennal process (right). D. Drawings of antennae from male specimens. E. Detail of the antennae. F. Labium. G. Enlargment of the petaliform last antennal segment, arrow indicate the position of the longitudinal ridge. H–I. Detail of the delicate and intricate network of divided areas in the hind wings, unlabelled arrows indicate the position of the stenocostal area. Scale bars represent 0.5 mm.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Morphological aspects of the paratypes of Gyaclavator kohlsi.
A. Paratype. USNM 578171; male in ventral view. B. Paratype. USNM 572502; nearly complete male specimen in ventral view. C. USNM 578171; drawing of antennae. D. USNM 578171; detail of the antennae. E. USNM 572502; drawing of antennae. F. USNM 572502; detail of the antennae. G. Paratype. USNM 582493; photograph in dosal view. H. Paratype. USNM 582493; drawing of preserved insect. Scale bars represent 0.5 mm.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Phylogenetic relationships of Gyaclavator.
Dots mark potential unambiguous autapomorphies. Solid black dots represent non-homoplasious, white dots represent homoplasious characters. Character numbers are placed above dots, characters states below dots. Autapomorphies of terminal taxa not shown. A. Strict consensus tree of 14 equally parsimonious trees from parsimony analysis. Numbers in italics are bootstrap values. B. Majority rule consensus tree from Bayesian analysis. Values in bold italics represent posterior probability of respective node.
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References

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Grants and funding

This research was possible thanks to grants of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, grant no WE 2942/6-1 to S. W., grant no WE 2942/6-2 to S. W. and T. W., and grant no HO 2306/ 6-1 6-2 to T. H.) (www.dfg.de) and by the research funding programme “LOEWE—Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz" of Hesse's Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and the Arts. (https://wissenschaft.hessen.de/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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