''Triatoma dominicana'' is an extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of assassin bug in the subfamily Triatominae, the kissing bugs known from early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

Burdigalian The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age (geology), age or stage (stratigraphy), stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 annum, Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian (sta ...

stage

Dominican amber Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree ''Hymenaea protera''. Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil incl ...

deposits on the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

. The species is known from a single 5th instar female nymph

exuvia In biology, exuviae are the remains of an exoskeleton and related structures that are left after ecdysozoans (including insects, crustaceans and arachnids) have moulted. The exuviae of an animal can be important to biologists as they can often b ...

found in ''

Hymenaea protera ''Hymenaea protera'' is an extinct prehistoric leguminous tree, the probable ancestor of present-day ''Hymenaea'' species. Most neotropical ambers come from its fossilized resin, including the famous Dominican amber. ''H. protera'' once grew in ...

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 ...

from deposits in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. 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 ...

, deposited in the

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

as specimen number He-4-73, was mined from the La Toca

mine. The specimen was first mentioned in a 1995 paper describing the extinct tick '' Ornithodorus antiquus''. Though mostly complete the exuvia is missing the right foreleg, the left middle leg, a small section of antenna and the anteocular region. ''Triatoma dominicana'' is the first extinct Triatominae species to be described from the fossil record. Included in the amber specimen are two fecal pellets from the insect which contain preserved flagellates of the extinct ''

Trypanosoma antiquus ''Trypanosoma antiquus'' is an extinct species of kinetoplastid (class Kinetoplastida), a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. The genus name is derived from the Greek ''trypano'' (borer) and ''soma'' (body) beca ...

''. This association is the oldest known example of the vector association between ''

Triatoma ''Triatoma'' is a genus of assassin bug in the subfamily Triatominae (kissing bugs). The members of ''Triatoma'' (like all members of Triatominae) are blood-sucking insects that can transmit serious diseases, such as Chagas disease. Their saliv ...

'' and ''

Trypanosoma ''Trypanosoma'' is a genus of kinetoplastids (class Trypanosomatidae), a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. Trypanosoma is part of the phylum Sarcomastigophora. The name is derived from the Greek ''trypano-'' (bore ...

''. ''T. dominicana'' lived in an environment similar to modern moist tropical rain forests. Though similar to the modern genera ''Triatoma'', ''

Panstrongylus The Genus ''Panstrongylus'' Berg, 1879 belongs to the subfamily Triatominae. Species *''Panstrongylus chinai'' (Del Ponte, 1929) (Tc) *''Panstrongylus diasi'' Pinto & Lent, 1946 *'' Panstrongylus geniculatus'' (Latreille 1811) (Tc) *''Panstron ...

'', and ''

Eratyrus ''Eratyrus'' is a genus of insects belonging to the assassin bug subfamily Triatominae. This genus has a wide distribution throughout central and northern South America and Central America. There are two species in this genus; both are associa ...

'' several physical characters in the specimen are distinct to ''Triatoma'', the size, at being smaller than ''Eratyrus'' nymphs, and the head and thorax being granulose. Modern

does not have an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

population of Triatominae species and only the human introduced '' T. rubrofasciata''. Of the three endemic Triatominae species found in the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and ...

''T. dominicana'' resembles some features of '' T. obscura'' found on

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Based on the contents of the amber specimen including three hematophagous insects, it is likely to have been formed in a tree cavity. Associated with the insects are several mammal hairs from an unidentified Chiropteran, the likely host for ''T. dominicana''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7840248 Reduviidae Burdigalian life Neogene Dominican Republic Miocene insects of North America Prehistoric insects of the Caribbean Fauna of Hispaniola Insects of the Dominican Republic Fossils of the Dominican Republic Extinct animals of the Dominican Republic Dominican amber Fossil taxa described in 2005 Taxa named by George Poinar Jr.