Aptenoperissus
Aptenoperissus is a genus of extinct wasp with eight described species, placed into the monotypic family Aptenoperissidae. The type species Aptenoperissus burmanicus resembles a mix between a grasshopper, an ant, and a wasp. It was described by a group of researchers from Oregon State University in a paper released online in October 2016.[1] The piece of 100 million year old Burmese amber that it was preserved in was found in the Hukawng Valley of Myanmar in Southern Asia. A new family, Aptenoperissidae, was described to accommodate this insect. Species of Aptenoperissus were wingless, with a strong stinger. The creature had long legs making it perfect for jumping higher than most insects.[2] Subsequently additional species were described from the Myanmar amber: A. amabilis, A. delicatus, A. formosus,[3] A. etius, A. magnifemoris, A. pusillus[4] and A. zonalis.[5] Initially placed in Ceraphronoidea,[2] later studies placed it in Stephanoidea.[3]
| Aptenoperissus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Aprenoperissus burmanicus holotype | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Suborder: | Apocrita |
| Superfamily: | Stephanoidea |
| Family: | †Aptenoperissidae Rasnitsyn et al., 2017 |
| Genus: | †Aptenoperissus Rasnitsyn et al., 2017 |
| Type species | |
| Aprenoperissus burmanicus Rasnitsyn et al., 2017 | |
| Species | |
|
A. burmanicus | |
References
- Williams, Kale (October 11, 2016). "Oregon State researchers discover ancient wingless wasp species encased in prehistoric amber". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- Rasnitsyn, A.P.; Poinar, George; Brown, Alex E. (2017). "Bizzare [sic] wingless parasitic wasp from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hymenoptera, Ceraphronoidea, Aptenoperissidae fam. nov.)". Cretaceous Research. 69: 113–118. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.09.003. ISSN 0195-6671.
- Zhang, Q.; Rasnitsyn, A.P.; Wang, B.; Zhang, H. (2018). "New data about the enigmatic wasp from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hymenoptera, Stephanoidea, Aptenoperissidae)". Cretaceous Research. 84: 173–180. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2017.10.024.
- Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn; Christoph Öhm-Kühnle (2018). "Three new female Aptenoperissus from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hymenoptera, Stephanoidea, Aptenoperissidae): Unexpected diversity of paradoxical wasps suggests insular features of source biome". Cretaceous Research. 91: 168–175. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.06.004.
- Qi Zhang; Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn; Haichun Zhang (2018). "New female of Aptenoperissus from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hymenoptera, Stephanoidea, Aptenoperissidae)". Cretaceous Research. 92: 8–11. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.07.015.