Diying Huang

Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology Chinese Academy of Sciences · Department of Paleoinvertebrate

Fleas are one of the major lineages of ectoparasitic insects and are now highly specialized for feeding on the blood of birds or mammals. This has isolated them among holometabolan insect orders, although they derive from the Antliophora (scorpionflies and true flies). Like most ectoparasitic lineages, their fossil record is meagre and confined to...

The species of the Strashilidae (strashilids) have been the most perplexing of fossil insects from the Jurassic period of Russia and China. They have been widely considered to be ectoparasites of pterosaurs or feathered dinosaurs, based on the putative presence of piercing and sucking mouthparts and hind tibio-basitarsal pincers purportedly used to...

Accurate information on the anatomy and ecology of worms from the Cambrian Lagerstatten of SW China is sparse. The present study of two priapulid worms Anningvermis n. gen. and Corynetis Luo & Hu, 1999 from the Lower Cambrian Maotianshan Shale biota brings new information concerning the anatomical complexity, functional morphology and lifestyles of...

Although priapulid worms form a relatively small phylum in present-day marine environments, they were important animals in Cambrian endobenthic communities. Two Early Cambrian priapulids, namely Xiaoheiqingella peculiaris and Yunnanpriapulus halteroformis nov. gen., nov. sp. from the Maotianshan Shale Lagerstätte of SW China are revised and describ...

We report the discovery of sipunculan worms from the Lower Cambrian Maotianshan Shale, near Kunming (southwest China). Their sipunculan identity is evidenced by the general morphology of the animals (sausage-shaped body with a slender retractable introvert and a wider trunk) and by other features, both external (e.g. perioral crown of tentacles, an...

A new praeaulacid species, Hadraulacus liae sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on a female specimen from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. This new species reinforces the validity of key diagnostic characters used to define the genus Hadraulacus Li, Shih & Ren, 2023, such as the absence of the 2rs-m crossvein in the forewing. However, it also...

Coccinelloid beetles have a sparse fossil record in the Mesozoic. Here, we describe and illustrate an unusual coccinelloid beetle, Yassibum yoshitomii gen. et sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Yassibum stands out within the Coccinelloidea due to its notched profemora and the presence of antennal grooves on the elytral epipleura. Based on...

The beetle superfamily Elateroidea comprises the most biodiverse bioluminescent insects among terrestrial light-producing animals. Recent exceptional fossils from the Mesozoic era and phylogenomic studies have provided valuable insights into the origin and evolution of bioluminescence in elateroids. However, due to the fragmentary nature of the fos...

Ichneumonid wasps, also known as Darwin wasps, are relatively rare in Cretaceous amber deposits, with only the highest diversity documented from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. In order to enhance our understanding of the past diversity of this group, we describe and illustrate a new species belonging to the genus Rasnichneumon Kopylov et al., 2021, n...

Three new species of plate-thigh beetles are described and figured from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, all representing the extant genus Eucinetus germar. The species, Eucinetus debilispinus Li & Cai sp. nov., E. panghongae Li & Cai sp. nov., and E. zhenhuai Li & Cai sp. nov., are distinguished from each other by the forms of the antennomeres, leg sp...

A new praeaulacid species, Habraulacus splendidus sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on a male specimen from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. This newly discovered taxon is, inter alia, characterised by its relatively low number of antennomeres (about 28) and its complex forewing venation (i.e., with both 2rs-m and 3rs-m present). Together wi...

Mesosticta additicta sp. nov., fourth species of this platystictid genus, is described from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, suggesting its endemic diversification in the West Burma Block (WBB), possibly in relation to the geographic isolation of this area during the formation of mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber.

The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction precipitated one of the most profound restructurings of biodiversity in recent geological history. Despite the extinction of many iconic groups, particularly the non-avian dinosaurs, there is emerging evidence that previously overlooked taxa experienced stark morphological and evolutionary stasis. In...

Fossilized mating insects are irreplaceable material for comprehending the evolution of the mating behaviours and life-history traits in the deep-time record of insects as well as the potential sexual conflict. However, cases of mating pairs are particularly rare in fossil insects, especially aquatic or semi-aquatic species. Here, we report the fir...

Insect fossils can be difficult to study as taphonomical processes have resulted in poor preservation and contrast of composition We propose an easy methodology based on UV-A light to study compression insect fossils and select specimens of interest for more advanced imagery studies. Ultraviolet (UV)light imaging has been previously performed on ar...

The second species of the ripidiine genus Ripidinelia Batelka & Prokop, R. daiboyui Li & Cai sp. nov., is reported from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber of northern Myanmar. Ripidinelia daiboyui is distinguishable from R. burmiticola Batelka & Prokop by having 5-5-4 tarsi. The apically dentate pretarsal claws found in R. daiboyui are rarely present in R...

A new fossil scorpion, Cretaceoushormiops elegans sp. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, representing the third record of Cretaceoushormiops. Here, we provide more details about the trichobothrial pattern of this genus using green epifluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The generic diagnosis is also revised based...

Despite encompassing only about 50 extant species, beetles of the suborder Archostemata have a rich fossil history, being known from the Permian and dominating coleopteran assemblages in the Mesozoic before declining in richness towards the Late Cretaceous. Given the limited diversity of extant archostematans, fossils provide a valuable line of evi...

Helotidae is a small and morphologically uniform family in Nitiduloidea. In this study, we report an unusual form of helotids, represented by Lobatihelota lescheni Li, Liu & Cai gen. nov., sp. nov. and L. iridescens Li, Liu & Cai sp. nov. from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Lobatihelota is unique within the family in having a leg morphology typical...

Parachoristidae, one of the most characteristic mecopteran families of the late Permian and Triassic, is widely distributed throughout the world, but only one species has been described from China thus far. Two new genera and three new species of Parachoristidae are here described and illustrated from the late Middle Triassic Tongchuan entomofauna:...

The fossil records of Kateretidae from the Mesozoic are significant for understanding the origin and early evolution of the family. The recent discoveries of Cretaceous kateretids have provided valuable information about the palaeodiversity and morphological disparity of the taxa. Here, we establish a new genus and species of kateretid beetles, Sca...

Mecoptera was in great abundance in the Permian, but little is known from China. A new family, Sinoagetopanorpidae fam. nov., is described and illustrated from the upper Guadalupian Yinping Formation at Yinping Mountain, Chaohu City, Anhui Province, China. Sinoagetopaorpa permiana Lin, Nel and Huang, 2010 was previously attributed to Permochoristid...

Permochoristidae is one of the most diverse mecopteran families in the fossil record, but only a few species have been previously described from China. Herein, we describe and illustrate two new permochoristid species, Mesochorista tongchuanensis sp. nov. and Agetopanorpa sinica sp. nov., from the late Middle Triassic of Yanchang Formation in Shaan...

Nitidulidae is the most diverse family of the recently recognized superfamily Nitiduliodea, but Mesozoic nitidulids that are critical for understanding their early diversification are sparse. Here, we report a new genus and species of Nitidulidae, Protonitidula neli gen. et sp. nov., that was recovered from mid-Cretaceous amber in northern Myanmar....

The past diversity of Isoptera is relatively poorly documented. Many early-diverging families are only represented today by relicts of their Mesozoic and Cenozoic richness. Therefore, the onset of their evolutionary history and the transitions between families, or even between subsocial and eusocial ways of life, remain difficult to decipher and re...

Permochoristidae is a representative of the mecopterans in the Permian and a stem group of Mecoptera. The Permian is a period during which mecopterans were prosperous, however, Permian mecopterans from China are ex�tremely rare, with only one previously reported species. We establish a new genus and species, Chaohuchorista liaoi gen. et sp. nov.,...

Chrysopidae (green lacewings) is one of the species-rich families of Neuroptera. The Cretaceous fossils of green lacewing currently comprise 11 genera and 26 species. Here we describe a new green lacewing species, Mesypochrysa coadnata sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new species belongs to the extinct subfamily Limaiinae and is cha...

Kateretid beetles are among the earliest known pollinators of angiosperms that can be traced back to the Cretaceous, but their palaeodiversity remains poorly explored due to the scarcity of fossil evidence. Here we report a new species, Pelretes bicolor sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber mined in northern Myanmar. The new species is disting...

Brood care enhances offspring fitness and survival by providing protection or feeding through parents (commonly by females). It has evolved independently multiple times in animals, e.g. mammals, birds, dinosaurs and arthropods, especially various lineages of insects, and has significant implications for understanding the emergence of sociality of i...

The Ordovician Lagerstätten record substantial amounts of excellent preservation and soft-bodied fossils during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE). However, few Lagerstätten are known from the Lower Ordovician, most of which are preserved in restricted environments and high-latitude regions. Here, we report on a new tropical Lager...

Triassopsyllidiida pectinata gen. et sp. nov. is described from the latest Middle Triassic Tongchuan biota of China and tentatively attributed to the superfamily Protopsyllidioidea. Its forewing venation is unique among this superfamily in the anteriorly pectinate vein ScP + RA and the presence of a veinlet between R and M + CuA. Its exact position...

A new fossil genus and species of the family Melandryidae, Homalenchodes jarzembowskii Li, Hsiao, Yoshitomi & Cai gen. et sp. nov., is described and illustrated from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Homalenchodes is likely closely related to the serropalpin genus Enchodes LeConte, based on their simple maxillary palps, complete prosternal process,...

Rudiaeschna jarzembowskii sp. nov., the second species of the small aeshnopteran family Rudiaeschnidae, is described from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation at the Liutiaogou locality, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, NE China. The new species differs from the type species of the family, namely Rudiaeschna limnobia, in possessing less cells and...

Ptiliidae is a group of distinctly miniaturized staphylinoid beetles with a scarce fossil record. Here, we report a new ptiliid genus and species, Crenossidium slipinskii Li, Newton and Cai gen. et sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar. Crenossidium can be attributed to the subfamily Nossidiinae based on the hind wing morphology...

Sinomesuropetala daohugensis gen. nov. et sp. nov., first accurate Chinese representative of the Mesozoic family Mesuropetalidae, is described from the Haifanggou Formation near the Daohugou village in northeastern China. The exceptional preservation of the fossil allows the description of reproductive structures seldom observed in compression foss...

In several insect eusocial lineages, e.g., some aphids, thrips, ants, some stingless bees, and termites, task specialization is brought to its climax with a sterile soldier caste solely devoted to colony defense. In Isoptera, while the reproductives are defenseless, the soldiers have unique morpho-physiological specializations whose origin and evol...

The scarabaeoid beetle Mesoceratocanthus from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation was originally placed in the extant tribe Ivieolini (Hybosoridae). Our re-examination of the holotype and a new specimen demonstrates that Mesoceratocanthus does not possess the diagnostic characters of Ivieolini or Hybosoridae. Instead, it should be assigned to the...

Limnichidae are currently a moderately diverse beetle family with a sparse fossil record. Here we describe a new limnichid genus and species, Anomocephalobus liuhaoi Li, Jäch & Cai gen. et sp. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar. Anomocephalobus gen. nov. is tentatively assigned to the extant subfamily Cephalobyrrhinae, based...

Oligaeschna sinica sp. nov., the oldest recorded and first Chinese representative of the Cenozoic aeshnid genus Oligaeschna, is described from the Bartonian of Tibet. This fossil is also among the oldest known representatives of the family Aeshnidae sensu stricto. Its presence in the Niubao Formation supports a temperate, cool to warm climate for t...

With some 3,700 described species, Dryopoidea are a moderately diverse superfamily of beetles whose position within basal Polyphaga has been historically difficult to elucidate. Members of most extant dryopoid families are set apart from the majority of other polyphagans by their association with aquatic habitats, but little is known about the orig...

A new fossil genus and species of the family Endomychidae, Rhomeocalpsua torosa Li, Tomaszewska & Cai, gen. et sp. nov., is described and illustrated from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new genus is characterised by the relatively elongate body, antennae composed of nine antennomeres with unique club morphology, unmodified pronotum, mesocoxa...

Early Jurassic insects have been described from the Badaowan and the Sangonghe formations in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, NW China. Among them, the insect fossils from the Sangonghe Formation remain poorly explored. Here we report for the first time a diverse assemblage of fossil insects from the Sangonghe Formation near the Daheyan Townsh...

Artematopodid fossils from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber are reported for the first time, represented by three species in two genera. Bipogonia Li, Kundrata & Cai gen. nov. with two species, B. trivialis Li, Kundrata & Cai sp. nov. and B. fortis Li, Kundrata & Cai sp. nov., is mainly characterized by the distinctly serrate antennae, mandibles wi...

A new fossil species of Monotomidae, Cretakarenni shaoi Li & Cai, sp. nov., is reported from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new species is attributed to the extinct genus Cretakarenni Peris & Delclòs, 2015 primarily based on the paired setose projections on head, apparently 1-segmented antennal club, and transverse procoxal cavities with exp...

Two new species of the prostomid genus Vetuprostomis Engel & Grimaldi (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea: Prostomidae), V. angularis Li & Cai sp. nov. and V. gaoi Li & Cai sp. nov., are described from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Vetuprostomis is suggested to be more closely related to extant Dryocora Pascoe distributed in Australia and New Zealand,...

A new fossil genus and species of Cantharidae, Nothotytthonyx serratus Li, Biffi, Kundrata & Cai gen. et sp. nov., is reported from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new species is tentatively attributed to the extant subfamily Malthininae based on a combination of characters, including the symmetrical apical maxillary palpomeres, shortened elytra,...

Beetles constitute the most biodiverse animal order with over 380 000 described species and possibly several million more yet unnamed. Recent phylogenomic studies have arrived at considerably incongruent topologies and widely varying estimates of divergence dates for major beetle clades. Here, we use a dataset of 68 single-copy nuclear protein-codi...

Mesozoic fossils provide invaluable information about the origin and evolutionary history of scorpions. However, well-preserved scorpions in amber are comparatively rare, greatly limiting our understanding of early scorpion morphological diversity and disparity. Here we describe a new species of the extinct family Palaeoburmesebuthidae, Betaburmese...

A new species, Vetubrachypsectra huchengi Li, Kundrata & Cai sp. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber on the basis of a single adult female. The species is assigned to genus Vetubrachypsectra Qu & Cai based on its serrate antennae, long maxillary palps, presence of tibial spurs, and elytra without clear striae. Vetubrachypsectra huc...

Nosodendridae is a small polyphagan beetle family with a sparse fossil record. Herein, the fossil Nosodendridae from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (ca. 99 Ma) are systematically reviewed. Nosodendron cretaceum Deng et al. is transferred into Archaenosodendron Li & Cai gen. nov., as A. cretaceum (Deng et al.) comb. nov., primarily based on the morpho...

A new fossil species of the extant archostematan genus Omma Newman, O. forte sp. nov., is reported from mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar. The extinct ommatid genus, Cionocups Kirejtshuk from the same deposit, is considered as a junior synonym of Omma, and C. manukyani is transferred to Omma, as O. manukyani comb. nov. A key to species of...

The cryptic slime mold beetles, Sphindidae, are a moderately diverse cucujoid beetle family, whose members are obligately tied to slime molds throughout their life. The fossil record of sphindid beetles is sparse; stem-sphindids and crown-group members of uncertain systematic placement have been reported from Cretaceous ambers. Here we review the M...

We here report a new elateroid, Anoeuma lawrencei Li, Kundrata and Cai gen. et sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Though superficially similar to some soft-bodied archostematans, Anoeuma could be firmly placed in the polyphagan superfamily Elateroidea based on the hind wing venation. Detailed morphological comparisons between extant elate...

Insects comprise over half of all described animal species. Together with the Protura (coneheads), Collembola (springtails) and Diplura (two-pronged bristletails), insects form the Hexapoda, a terrestrial arthropod lineage characterised by possessing six legs. Exponential growth of genome-scale data for the hexapods has substantially altered our un...

Mesozoic fossils of Psephenidae are sparse. Here we characterise, describe and figure a new genus and species of Psephenidae from the Albian/Cenomanian Burmese amber, Pseudomataeopsephus burmensis gen. et sp. nov, based on an adult male. Pseudomataeopsephus has an interesting combination of characters, including filiform antennae in male, pronotum...

The morphology of the Jurassic fossil Archaeolus funestus Lin, 1986, which was previously placed in the extinct click-beetle subfamily Protagrypninae (Coleoptera: Elateridae), is revised based on a re-examination of the type specimen. The validity of Protagrypninae is discussed and further questioned, partly based on the newly observed characters i...

With over 380,000 described species and possibly several million more yet unnamed, beetles represent the most biodiverse animal order. Recent phylogenomic studies have arrived at considerably incongruent topologies and widely varying estimates of divergence dates for major beetle clades. Here we use a dataset of 68 single-copy nuclear protein codin...