Cornupalpatum burmanicum Poinar and Brown, 2003
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.1038/s41467-017-01550-z |
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publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5E70AE61-9FF1-4C08-8B5C-DC63EA073335 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038A8794-FFD2-FFAE-ACBD-FB91C3A0FD40 |
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treatment provided by |
Plazi |
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scientific name |
Cornupalpatum burmanicum Poinar and Brown, 2003 |
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Cornupalpatum burmanicum Poinar and Brown, 2003 12 Remarks. The specimen AMNH Bu JZC-F18, preserved in Burmese amber, is a nymph based on its eight legs and absent genital pore ( Figs. 1 View Fig. 1 , 2 View Fig.2 ). The tick, ca. 0.9 mm long from the posterior margin to the apex of hypostome, has ventrolateral claws on palpomere III, lacks eyes, has all coxae with spurs, and shows 11 festoons ( Figs. 1 View Fig. 1 , 2 View Fig.2 ; Supplementary Fig. 2 a View Fig.2 ). Within the current diversity of Cretaceous hard ticks, none of them described as a nymph, these characters classify AMNH Bu JZC-F18 within Cornupalpatum burmanicum , described on the basis of two larvae12. The scutum, the teeth in the hypostome, the Haller ’ s organ, and the striate integument were not visible in the holotype of C. burmanicum , likely due to the specimen ’ s state of preservation. In addition, the new specimen does not fit some of the characters in the original description of the species, some of which could represent ontogenetic variation: the ventrolateral claws in the third palpal segment are less developed, the central festoon is as wide as the others (not narrower), and the second palpal segment is more elongated. In any case, we acknowledge that C. burmanicum and Compluriscutula vetulum, the other Cretaceous ixodid species based on a larval stage13, show a high degree of similarity with ticks of the extant genus Amblyomma 14, and a Cretaceous species within that genus based on an adult was recently named15. A future revision of the described Cretaceous hard ticks reevaluating all the critical characters is necessary to elucidate their relationships.
Most significantly, the hard tick has one leg entangled in the barb of a pennaceous feather with a rather thick rachis basally ( Fig. 1 View Fig. 1 ; Supplementary Fig. 1 View Fig. 1 ). Its preserved section is 19.4 mm long and shows over 50 preserved barbs, most of them attached to the rachis, but with their apices lost at the surface of the amber. Those barbs that happen to be complete are much shorter on one side of the preserved rachis section than those on the other side (ca. 11 vs. 19.5 mm). Some barbs show damage, which likely occurred before having become embedded in the resin (Supplementary Fig. 1 a View Fig. 1 ). The fine preservation of the barbules allows us to distinguish their blade-like bases and their pennula, which display spined nodes and internodes. Most nodes in a distal position along the barbs are well defined and show short spines that are (sub)equally developed on both sides of the barbule pennulum ( Fig. 1 d View Fig. 1 ; Supplementary Fig. 1 c, d View Fig. 1 ). Some poorly defined nodes present in more proximal – medial areas of the barb, however, show relatively long spines on one side of the pennulum that form hooklets (=hamuli) (Supplementary Fig. 1 e, f View Fig. 1 ). In addition, two isolated barbs from a different feather are close to the semicomplete one (Supplementary Fig. 1 b View Fig. 1 ), and a detached pennulum showing hooklets on one of its sides, ca. 0.6 mm long, is also present in the amber piece ( Fig. 1 f View Fig. 1 ). Pigments indicating colour patterns have not been observed.
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