Early evolution of nocturnal behavior in cockroaches documented by a new Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) amber fossil from Japan

抄録

Well-preserved insect fossils in amber provide detailed morphological information. Mesozoic cockroach fossils are typically preserved as impressions, but many specimens have recently been discovered from the mid-Cretaceous Cenomanian Kachin amber (ca. 99–98 Ma). However, cockroach fossils from later in the Cretaceous are rare. Here, we report a new Coniacian (Late Cretaceous, ca. 87–86 Ma) cockroach, Ovaliblatta iwakiensis gen. et sp. nov., based on a fossil in amber from the Kohisagawa Member of the Tamayama Formation (Futaba Group) in Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan. Ovaliblatta iwakiensis gen. et sp. nov. is tentatively assigned as a member of Ectobiidae. The antennae, cerci, and tergum of Ovaliblatta iwakiensis gen. et sp. nov. have numerous trichoid sensilla, similar to those of extant nocturnal Ectobiidae. This suggests that Ovaliblatta iwakiensis gen. et sp. nov. represents an early example of the evolution of nocturnal behavior in cockroaches. This is the first record of a cockroach fossil preserved in amber from the late Coniacian and the first such record from Japan.

ZooBank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:AF30CED2-6F01-48EE-9D44-A61EE910378A