Article by Professor Jacek Szwedo published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications

Article by Professor Jacek Szwedo published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications

An international team of scientists, which also include researcher from the University of Gdańsk - Professor Jacek Szwedo from the Laboratory of Evolutionary Entomology and Museum of Amber Inclusions, has recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.
Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea) comprise two families: the widespread Cicadidae and the relict Tettigarctidae of Australia and Tasmania. Fossils are assigned to these two groups on the basis of several different morphological characters that define their modern relatives. However, assigning extinct Mesozoic forms to modern taxa may overlook the unique and transitional characters provided by the fossils. This approach makes it difficult to trace their early evolutionary pathways. We investigated the phylogenetic relationships and morphological differences between fossil and modern cicadas using adult, nymphal forms and exuvia from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Kachin, Myanmar. Our results suggest that the Cicadidae and Tettigarctidae diverged at least in the Middle Jurassic or even earlier. Morphological evolution may have been forced by changes in available host plants. Middle Cretaceous cicadas were either silent, like the modern Tettigarctidae, or may have produced faint sounds associated with the presence of a sound-producing system, the tymbal organ. The discovery of fossils of the last nymphal stages and moults of cicadoids, with preserved fossorial forelegs and piercing-sucking mouthparts, suggests that they present underground habits at least in the mid-Cretaceous. They occupied a subterranean ecological niche and fed on roots. Our study analysed the Mesozoic evolution of Cicadoidea, focusing on their morphology, behaviour and ecology. We highlighted the adaptive traits and interactions of cicadas with the environment.

The article has been featured on a Nature Communications Editors’ Highlights webpage https://www.nature.com/collections/jadchbbhdi.