On the placement of the Cretaceous orthopteran Brauckmannia groeningae from Brazil, with notes on the relationships of Schizodactylidae (Orthoptera, Ensifera)

By

Heads, Sam
Leuzinger, Léa

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2011

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

77

Pages

17-30

Subjects

Brauckmannia , Brauckmanniidae , Brazil , Crato Formation , Early Cretaceous , Ensifera , Gryllidea , Orthoptera , Phylogeny , Schizodactylidae , Schizodactylus

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.77.769

 

Abstract

The fossil orthopteran Brauckmannia groeningae Martins-Neto (Orthoptera, Ensifera) from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil, currently misplaced at both the genus and family level, is transferred to the family Schizodactylidae and assigned to the extant genus Schizodactylus Brullé; ergo, Brauckmannia enters synonymy under Schizodactylus and Brauckmanniidae enters synonymy under Schizodactylidae. Schizodactylus groeningae (Martins-Neto), comb. n. agrees in size and general habitus with extant members of the genus, but can be readily separated by the robust, subovoid form of the metatibiae and the distinctive morphology of the lateral metabasitarsal processes. This species represents the first fossil occurrence of Schizodactylidae and the only New World record of this ancient lineage. Phylogenetic relationships of the schizodactylids are reviewed and a sister-group relationship with Grylloidea advocated based on a reappraisal of morphological and molecular evidence.