Department of Animal Science, Hartpury College, Hartpury GL19 3BE, UK
Michael S. Engel
Division of Entomology, Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA; Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-4415, USA
Diying Huang
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Centre for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Chenyang Cai
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Centre for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK; Corresponding author
Summary: Mimicry is ubiquitous in nature, yet understanding its origin and evolution is complicated by the scarcity of exceptional fossils that enable behavioral inferences about extinct animals. Here we report bizarre true bugs (Hemiptera) that closely resemble beetles (Coleoptera) from mid-Cretaceous amber. The unusual fossil bugs are described as Bersta vampirica gen. et sp. nov. and Bersta coleopteromorpha gen. et sp. nov. and are placed into a new family, Berstidae fam. nov. The specialized mouthparts of berstids indicate that they were predaceous on small arthropods. Their striking beetle-like appearance implies that they were either involved in defensive mimicry or mimicked beetles to attack unsuspecting prey. The latter would represent the first case of aggressive mimicry in the invertebrate fossil record. These findings enrich our understanding of the paleoecological associations and extinct behavioral strategies of Mesozoic insects.
