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A new species of Cretaceoushormiops from the mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar (Arachnida: Scorpiones: Protoischnuridae)

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Abstract

A new fossil scorpion, Cretaceoushormiops elegans sp. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, representing the third record of Cretaceoushormiops. Here, we provide more details about the trichobothrial pattern of this genus using green epifluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The generic diagnosis is also revised based on the discovery of new characters, including major and minor lateral ocelli, presence of a single prolateral pedal spur, and truncate laterodistal lobes of the telotarsi. In addition, our specimen reveals numerous morphological similarities between the genus Cretaceoushormiops and hormurid scorpions.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable suggestions. Financial support was provided by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research project (2019QZKK0706), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB26000000), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42288201).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Qiang Xuan, Chenyang Cai & Diying Huang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Qiang Xuan

  3. School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK

    Chenyang Cai

  4. Geological Museum of China, Beijing, 100034, China

    Zhijun Zhang

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  1. Qiang Xuan
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  2. Chenyang Cai
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  3. Zhijun Zhang
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  4. Diying Huang
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Correspondence to Diying Huang.

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Xuan, Q., Cai, C., Zhang, Z. et al. A new species of Cretaceoushormiops from the mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar (Arachnida: Scorpiones: Protoischnuridae). PalZ 98, 191–201 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-023-00673-7

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