Biology:Electrotettix

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Short description: Extinct genus of grasshoppers


Electrotettix attenboroughi
Temporal range: 20–18 Ma
Burdigalian
Electrotettix attenboroughi.jpg
E. attenboroughi encased in amber
Scientific classification
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Genus:
Electrotettix

Heads & Thomas, 2014
Species:
E. attenboroughi
Binomial name
Electrotettix attenboroughi
Heads & Thomas, 2014[1]

Electrotettix is an extinct genus of pygmy locust found in amber collected in the Dominican Republic. Represented by a single species, Electrotettix attenboroughi, which lived 18-20 million years ago, it fed primarily on moss, fungi, and algae.[2] The genus name is derived from electrum, Latin for "amber", and Greek tettix, meaning "grasshopper".[2] The species was named after Sir David Attenborough.[3] The female measures 8 millimeters in length: the male is unknown. The species is distinguished from modern members of the Cladonotinae subfamily by the fact that it retains vestigial wings, a feature lost somewhere between the ancient specimens and more modern species.[1][2] E. attenboroughi was identified from a collection of amber at the Illinois Natural History Survey, which had been stored in a cabinet under a sink since it was collected in the 1950s by entomologist Milton Sanderson.[4]

See also

  • List of things named after David Attenborough and his works

References

Wikidata ☰ Q17480692 entry