Ordralfabetix
Extinct planthopper from Early Eocene French amber.
A single species, Ordralfabetix sirophatanis, makes up this extinct genus of planthoppers from the family Lophopidae. Its only known fossils are Early Eocene Oise amber specimens from the Ypresian stage, found at the Quesnoy site in France's Oise Department.
Quick Facts
- Species
- sirophatanis
Facts from the source article.
History and classification
The species is known solely from the holotype, a partial adult preserved as an impression on clear orange amber. The fossil was recovered from Oise amber discovered in 1997 at Quesnoy, near the Oise River in northern France. The type specimen is housed in the entomology department of the French Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. Jacek Szwedo of the Muséum published the type description for the genus and species in 2011 in the journal Zootaxa. The generic name references the Asterix character Ordralfabetix, the village fishmonger. The specific epithet sirophatanis combines proto-Celtic words for 'long' and 'wing', referring to the fore wing length. At the time of description, O. sirophatanis was one of three hundred arthropod species identified from Oise ambers, representing seven planthopper families. It was the second Lophopidae species described from the European fossil record, following Baninus thuringiorum from the Messel site.
Description
The type specimen preserves a nearly complete adult left fore-wing (tegmen) along with parts of the head, pronotum, right clavus, and portions of the left hind-wing. The fore-wing measures 17.9 mm in length and 5.3 mm at its widest point; the hind-wing is estimated at 10.29 mm long. Ordralfabetix is distinguished from related genera by a shallowly concave fore-wing with an elongated tornus and rounded wing tip, an oblique subapical line of veinlets, and a narrow costal area with veinlets running nearly the entire length, longer than the clavus.
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