New genus of leaf-mimicking katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) from the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene of France and England

Abstract

• A new leaf-mimicking katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae), Archepseudophylla fossilis gen. et sp. nov. is described based on tegmina from the Early Oligocene of France. Lithymnetes laurenti Théobald, 1937 from the Late Eocene of France is transferred to Archepseudophylla comb. nov. The enigmatic ‘Poekilloptera’ melanospila Cockerell, 1921 from the Early Oligocene of the Isle of Wight (UK) is transferred to Archepseudophylla comb. nov. The present discoveries in the Palaeogene of the Isle of Wight, Céreste, and Marseilles Basins represent the first fossil records of Pseudophyllinae. In addition, these records support warm and humid forest conditions near the palaeolakes of the Isle of Wight, Camoins-les-Bains, and Céreste