''Tytthodiplatys'' 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 ...

of earwig in the family

Diplatyidae Diplatyidae is a family of earwigs in the suborder Neodermaptera. It contains three subfamilies,Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

fossil found in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. The genus contains a single described species, ''Tytthodiplatys mecynocercus''.

History and classification

''Tytthodiplatys'' is known only from a single fossil, 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 number AMNH Bu-FB75, which is housed in the Amber Fossil Collection of the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The specimen is composed of a fully complete first

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

female earwig which has been preserved as 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 disabilitie ...

in a transparent chunk of Burmese

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 ...

. The age of the amber deposits in

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 ...

in northernmost Burma are understood to be at least 100 million years old, placing them in the Albian age of the Cretaceous. The ''Tytthodiplatys'' holotype was recovered from outcrops near the city of Myitkyina in

and was first studied by paleoentomologist Michael S. Engel of the Division of Entomology at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

. Engel's 2011

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 new species was published in the online journal ''

ZooKeys ''ZooKeys'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering zoological taxonomy, phylogeny, and biogeography. It was established in 2008 and the editor-in-chief is Terry Erwin (Smithsonian Institution). It is published by Pensoft Publ ...

''. The genus name ''Tytthodiplatys'' was coined by Engel as a combination of three Greek words, ''tytthos'' which means "small" or "young", ''di'' which means "two" and ''platys'' meaning "broad". 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 ...

''mecynocercus'' is from the Greek words ''mekyno'' and ''kerkos'' which translate as "prolong" and "tail" respectively. ''Tytthodiplatys'' is one of four described earwig species found in Burmese amber. One other species '' Astreptolabis ethirosomatia'' was described by Engel in the same 2011 paper, while '' Burmapygia resinata'' was described by Engel and David Grimaldi in 2004, with the last species '' Myrrholabia electrina'' first being described by

Theodore Cockerell Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell (1866–1948) was an American zoology, zoologist, born at Norwood, England, and brother of Sydney Cockerell. He was educated at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, and then studied botany in the field in Colorad ...

in 1920. At the time of description, ''Tytthodiplatys'' was the oldest confirmed member of the family Diplatyidae.

Description

The holotype specimen of ''Tytthodiplatys'' is a first

female with an overall coloration that appears to be matt brown. The female is approximately in length when the cerci are excluded, and a total of in length when the cerci are included. The body is overall dotted with sparsely scattered groups of

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

which are not thickened enough to be chaetulose. The antennae have a fairly slender scape and are the typical eight flagellomeres long as normally seen in first instar earwigs. The legs are uniformly smooth, lacking any bristles or spines, except for a few scattered setae that are found on the upper side of the profemora. The cerci host a number of stiff and elongated setae on the cercomeres.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7861864 Dermaptera genera Cretaceous insects Fossil taxa described in 2011 Prehistoric insects of Asia Burmese amber Fossils of Myanmar Taxa named by Michael S. Engel