New cicada fossils from Australia (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae) with remarkably detailed wing surface nanostructure

Max Moulds, Michael Frese, Matthew R. McCurry

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Australia hosts the richest diversity of extant cicadas in the world, but a scarcity of fossils meansthat little is known about their evolutionary history on the continent. Here we describe the firstfossilized Cicadidae from Australia.Laopsaltria ferruginosagen. et sp. nov.,Burbungoides gulgongen-sisgen. et sp. nov. andTithopsaltria titangen. et sp. nov. were all found at McGraths Flat nearGulgong, New South Wales, a recently discovered Miocene Lagerst€atte. These cicada fossils pre-serve remarkable detail, including setae and wing membrane surface structures. Wing size variesconsiderably between the three newly described species and, inT. titansp. nov., reaches a max-imum size beyond what is known from extant Australian cicadas (or any other known cicada fos-sil), indicating a disparate cicada fauna in Australia’s Miocene rainforests.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-13
Number of pages13
JournalAlcheringa: an Australian journal of palaeontology
Volume46
Issue number3-4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

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