''Burmacoccus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the ...

in the extinct

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

family Burmacoccidae, containing a single species, ''Burmacoccus danyi''. The genus is solely known from the

Albian The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± 0.9 M ...

–

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...

deposits.

History and classification

''Burmacoccus'' is known from the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

specimen, collection number BMNH In. 20708, which is an

inclusion Inclusion or Include may refer to: Sociology * Social inclusion, aims to create an environment that supports equal opportunity for individuals and groups that form a society. ** Inclusion (disability rights), promotion of people with disabiliti ...

in a transparent chunk of Burmese amber. As of 2004, the type insect was part of the amber collections housed at the

British Museum of Natural History The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. The

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

specimen was recovered from deposits exposed in the

Hukawng Valley The Hukawng Valley ( my, ဟူးကောင်းချိုင့်ဝှမ်း; also spelt Hukaung Valley) is an isolated valley in Myanmar, roughly in area. It is located in Tanaing Township in the Myitkyina District of Kachin State i ...

Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...

, Myanmar. Burmese amber has been

radiometrically dated Radiometric dating, radioactive dating or radioisotope dating is a technique which is used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed. The method compares t ...

using U- Pb isotopes, yielding an age of approximately 99 million years old, close to the

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...

–

boundary. The holotype was first studied by paleoentomologist and coccid researcher Jan Koteja, of the

Agricultural University of Kraków The Agricultural University of Kraków (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Rolniczy im. Hugona Kołłątaja w Krakowie''), located in Kraków, Poland, became a university by decree of the Council of Ministers as of 28 September 1972. Formerly, it was known as ...

. Kotejas 2004

type description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

of the family, genus and species was published in the ''

Journal of Systematic Palaeontology The ''Journal of Systematic Palaeontolog'y'' (Print: , online: ) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of palaeontology published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the British Natural History Museum. , the editor-in-chief is Paul D. Taylor. T ...

''. He coined the

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''danyi'' to honor the Lebanese amber researcher Dany Azar, who assisted Koteja with fossil coccid research. The family name is a derivative of the genus name ''Burmacoccus'', its self a derivation of Burma, the former name of Myanmar, and "coccus" a common genus name suffix for scale insects. ''Burmacoccus'' is one of three Burmese amber coccid genera that Koteja described in the same paper, the other two being ''

Albicoccus ''Albicoccus'' is an extinct genus of scale insect in the extinct monotypic family Albicoccidae, containing a single species, ''Albicoccus dimai''. The genus is solely known from the Albian - Cenomanian Burmese amber deposits. History and cl ...

'', monotypic to the family Albicoccidae, and the ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'' genus ''

Marmyan ''Marmyan'' is an extinct genus of scale insect, containing a single species, ''Marmyan barbarae'' and unplaced in any coccid family. The genus is solely known from the Albian – Cenomanian Burmese amber deposits. History and classification ...

''. He placed ''Burmacoccus'' into the monotypic family Burmacoccidae based on the combination of characters that indicate a relationship to the archaeococcoid group scale insects, but are not found in any one particular family. Koteja noted the scutellum shape indicates a possible relationship to the family

Monophlebidae Monophlebidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as the giant scales or monophlebids. They occur in most parts of the world but more genera are found in the tropics than elsewhere.New Jersey amber New Jersey Amber, sometimes called Raritan amber, is amber found in the Raritan and Magothy Formations of the Central Atlantic (Eastern) coast of the United States. It is dated to the Late Cretaceous, Turonian age, based on pollen analysis of th ...

is Grimaldiidae. In that family though, the eye has a single row of

ommatidia The compound eyes of arthropods like insects, crustaceans and millipedes are composed of units called ommatidia (singular: ommatidium). An ommatidium contains a cluster of photoreceptor cells surrounded by support cells and pigment cells. The ou ...

, while in ''Burmacoccus'' the ommatidia are grouped into a compound eye rather than placed in a row.

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis of coccid males from a number of families was performed by Hodgson and Hardy in 2013. The extinct genera ''Albicoccus'', '' Apticoccus'', ''

Grimaldiella ''Funchalia'' is a genus of deep-water prawns of the family Penaeidae. Six species are currently recognised: *'' Funchalia danae'' Burkenroad, 1940 *'' Funchalia meridionalis'' (Lenz & Strunck, 1914) *'' Funchalia sagamiensis'' Fujino, 1975 *'' ...

'', '' Kukaspis'', ''Marmyan'', '' Palaeosteingelia'', '' Palaeotupo'', '' Solicoccus'', '' Turonicoccus'' and possibly '' Pennygullania'', all with simple rows of eyes, were found to form a clade that included ''Burmacoccus''. The clade also includes the modern families

Putoidae Putoidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as giant mealybugs or putoids. There is probably a single genus, ''Puto'', containing about sixty species. The genus name ''Macrocerococcus'' has also been used but it is now considered to be a ...

, Steingeliidae and Pityococcidae plus the neococcoids clade as a group.

Description

The single described adult male is approximately long, with hyaline wings. The details of the head are not readily discernible, being obscured by one wing, but the eyes are clearly composed of approximately fifteen ommatidia grouped into a compound eye. The antennae are composed of ten segments, with the

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

being the longest segment and the joints between the segments bearing numerous setae. The fore-wings are about long, with microtrichia, and a small but distinct lobe which couples with the

hamuli A hamus or hamulus is a structure functioning as, or in the form of, hooks or hooklets. Etymology The terms are directly from Latin, in which ''hamus'' means "hook". The plural is ''hami''. ''Hamulus'' is the diminutive – hooklet or little h ...

. The hind-wings are modified into elongated

halteres ''Halteres'' (; singular ''halter'' or ''haltere'') (from grc, ἁλτῆρες, weights held in the hands to give an impetus in leaping) are a pair of small club-shaped organs on the body of two orders of flying insects that provide infor ...

bearing two developed hamuli. The abdomen is conical in outline, narrowing towards the tip, with two short setae and having a developed penial sheath. The sheath is divided into a basal rounded section and a narrow style with pointed end. The abdomen is translucent enough for the preserved testes to be visible.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20817718 † Fossil taxa described in 2004 Cretaceous insects Cretaceous insects of Asia Burmese amber Fossils of Myanmar Extinct Hemiptera