Notes on the genus Conanalus Tinkham, 1943 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae) with one new species from Yunnan, China.

The paper describes one new species, i.e. Conanalus bilobus sp. nov., and provides additional information on Conanalus brevicaudus Shi, Mao & Ou, 2008 (including female description for the first time), and Conanalus robustus Shi, Mao & Ou, 2008 from Yunnan, as well as illustrations of important morphological characters of Conanalus axinus Shi, Wang & Fu, 2005. A distribution map of the species of Conanalus from Yunnan, China is presented. The type material is deposited in the Museum of Hebei University.

A Cretaceous bug with exaggerated antennae might be a double-edged sword in evolution.

Sexual selection can favor production of exaggerated features, but the high cost of such features in terms of energy consumption and enemy avoidance makes them go to extinction under the influence of natural selection. However, fossils preserved with specialized features are very rare. Here, we report a new nymph from Burmese amber, Magnusantena wuae Du & Chen gen. et sp. nov., which has exaggerated leaf-like expanded antennae. Such bizarre antennae indicate that sensitive and delicate sensory system and magnificent appearance in Hemiptera have been already established in mid-Cretaceous. Our findings may provide evidence for Darwin's view that sensory organs play an important role in sexual selection. This nymph with the leaf-like antennae may also represents a new camouflage pattern. However, the oversized antennae are costly to develop and maintain, increasing the risks from predators. Such unparalleled expanded antennae might be the key factor for the evolutionary fate of the coreid.

Author Correction: The first amber caridean shrimp from Mexico reveals the ancient adaptation of the Palaemon to the mangrove estuary environment.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The first amber caridean shrimp from Mexico reveals the ancient adaptation of the Palaemon to the mangrove estuary environment.

The aquatic and semiaquatic invertebrates in fossiliferous amber have been reported, including taxa in a wide range of the subphylum Crustacea of Arthropoda. However, no caridean shrimp has been discovered so far in the world. The shrimp Palaemon aestuarius sp. nov. (Palaemonidae) preserved in amber from Chiapas, Mexico during Early Miocene (ca. 22.8 Ma) represents the first and the oldest amber caridean species. This finding suggests that the genus Palaemon has occupied Mexico at least since Early Miocene. In addition, the coexistence of the shrimp, a beetle larva, and a piece of residual leaf in the same amber supports the previous explanations for the Mexican amber depositional environment, in the tide-influenced mangrove estuary region.

Review of the genus Diaphanogryllacris (Orthoptera: Gryllacrididae: Gryllacridinae) with description two new species from China.

Two new species of the genus Diaphanogryllacris from China are described, i.e. Diaphanogryllacris brevispina sp. nov. and Diaphanogryllacris incavatis sp. nov.. In addition, a distribution map of the species of the genus Diaphanogryllacris from China is presented. All material examined is deposited in the Museum of Hebei University.

Male description and intraspecific variations of Cyrtopsis t-sigillata (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Meconematinae).

The paper describes the male of Cyrtopsis t-sigillata Liu, Zhou & Bi, 2010 for the first time, and discusses individual variations in the species. It provides the photos of important morphological features, and offers a distribution map about the genus Cyrtopsis Bey-Bienko, 1962. The examined material is deposited in the Museum of Hebei University. Morphological images were acquired using Leica M205 A digital imaging system.