Transitional fossil earwigs--a missing link in Dermaptera evolution.
BACKGROUND
The Dermaptera belongs to a group of winged insects of uncertain relationship within Polyneoptera, which has expanded anal region and adds numerous anal veins in the hind wing. Evolutional history and origin of Dermaptera have been in contention.


RESULTS
In this paper, we report two new fossil earwigs in a new family of Bellodermatidae fam. nov. The fossils were collected from the Jiulongshan Formation (Middle Jurassic) in Inner Mongolia, northeast China. This new family, characterized by an unexpected combination of primitive and derived characters, is bridging the missing link between suborders of Archidermaptera and Eodermaptera. Phylogenetic analyses support the new family to be a new clade at the base of previously defined Eodermaptera and to be a stem group of (Eodermaptera+Neodermaptera).


CONCLUSIONS
Evolutional history and origin of Dermaptera have been in contention, with dramatically different viewpoints by contemporary authors. It is suggested that the oldest Dermaptera might possibly be traced back to the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic and they had divided into Archidermaptera and (Eodermaptera+Neodermaptera) in the Middle Jurassic.
Key Laboratory of Insect Evolution and Environmental changes, College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China.
Jingxia
J
Zhao
Yunyun
Y
Zhao
Chungkun
C
Shih
Dong
D
Ren
Yongjie
Y
Wang
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002681:China; D005580:Fossils; D007313:Insecta / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny