A new apterous Zorotypus in Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Zoraptera

Abstract – The remains of a new species of zorapteran (Polyneoptera: Anartioptera: Mystroptera: Zoraptera) are described and figured from a female preserved in Early Miocene (Burdigalian) amber from the Dominican Republic. Zorotypus (Zorotypus) mnemosyne Engel sp. n. is represented by a female of the apterous, blind morph (“apteron”) and can be readily distinguished from the only other Miocene zorapter-ans, Z. goeleti Engel & Grimaldi (winged morph) and Z. palaeus Poinar (apterous morph) in the terminal abdominal structure, the shape of the cerci, and the spination of the metafemora. Notes on the status of the recently described Jordanian amber (contemporaneous with Lebanese amber) zorapteran are provided and the genus Paleospinosus is synonymized with Octozoros Engel (new synonymy) resulting in the new combination Z. hudae (Kaddumi). In addition, the name “Z. confirmans Scheven ” is considered a nomen nudum et invalidum. However, the taxon is distinct from other Dominican amber species and is therefore validated as Z. absonus Engel sp. n. and distinguished from other fossil zorapterans