''Glisachaemus'' is an 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 "unispe ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of planthopper in the

Cixiidae The Cixiidae are a family of Fulgoroidea, fulgoroid insects, one of many families commonly known as planthoppers, distributed worldwide and comprising more than 2,000 species from over 150 Genus (biology), genera. The genera are placed into thre ...

subfamily

Cixiinae Cixiinae is a planthopper subfamily in the family Cixiidae The Cixiidae are a family of Fulgoroidea, fulgoroid insects, one of many families commonly known as planthoppers, distributed worldwide and comprising more than 2,000 species from over ...

and at present, it contains the single species ''Glisachaemus jonasdamzeni''. The genus is solely known from the Early Eocene

Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than ...

deposits in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

region of Europe.

History and classification

''Glisachaemus jonasdamzeni'' is known only from one 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 sever ...

, number "No. 20067". It is a single male individual preserved in a clear yellow amber specimen with several unidentified

Collembola Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Ento ...

associated and a parasitic mite on its dorsal surface. The specimen is complete, with only the right foreleg detached, but associated close by the body. The male was entombed while in flight posture, with both the hemelytra and hindwings spread. The amber is currently residing in the private collection of Jonas Damzen,

Vilnius, Lithuania Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

. The specimen is to be donated to the Museum of Amber Inclusions, University of Gdańsk in Gdańsk,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

with the accession number "MIB 5075". ''G. jonasdamzeni'' was first studied by Jacek Szwedo, with his 2007

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 ...

being published in the journal '' Alavesia''. The

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

name was coined by Jacek Szwedo as a combination of the

Old Prussian Old Prussian was a Western Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to avoid con ...

word ''glisis'', meaning "amber", and '' Flachaemus'', a modern planthopper genus. This is in reference preservation of the type specimen and the genus that ''Glisachaemus'' is possibly related. The specific epithet "''jonasdamzeni''" was designated by Jacek Szwedo in honor of the collector of the specimen, Jonas Damzen.

Description

''Glisachaemus jonasdamzeni'' is in length and has a wing span of . Though similar to the related genus ''Flachaemus'' of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, there are several notable differences between the genera. ''Flachaemus'' has an upper surface of the head which is flat with no border. ''Glisachaemus'' in contrast has front edge of upper surface delimited by transverse carina. The upper surface in ''Glisachaemus'' is shorter than its width, while in ''Flachaemus'' the surface is twice as long as it is broad. Also noted is the grouping of spines along the hind tibia of the genera, in ''Flachaemus'' the apical spines are grouped while in ''Glisachaemus'' they are not.

References

Eocene insects Extinct Hemiptera Prehistoric insects of Europe Fossil taxa described in 2007 † † Baltic amber † † {{Fulgoromorpha-stub