J Syst Evol

• Research Article •    

The first Cheliferidae (Pseudoscorpiones: Cheliferoidea) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber

Chen Feng1,2,3, Xiangbo Guo4, Yuhui Zhuang1,2,3, Qingqing Zhang1,2, Corentin Jouault5, Edmund Aleksander Jarzembowski3, and Yu Liu1,2,6*   

  1. 1Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
    2MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
    3State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 218000, China
    4Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application, College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
    5Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK
    6Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming 650500, China

    *Author for correspondence. E‐mail: yu.liu@ynu.edu.cn
  • Received:2025-06-16 Accepted:2025-08-02 Online:2025-10-01 Published:2025-08-02
  • Supported by:
    This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42293280), the Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Province (Grant No. 202401BC070012) to Yu Liu who is further supported by the Yunnan Revitalization Talent Support Program, and the Scientific Research and Innovation Project of Postgraduate Students in the Academic Degree of Yunnan University (Grant No. KC‐24249960 to Feng Chen) and the Yunnan Fundamental Research Projects (Grant No. 202401CF070193 to Qingqing Zhang).

Abstract: Pseudoscorpiones are a group of small-sized to medium-sized arachnids under the species-rich Chelicerata. They are found in many terrestrial habitats, normally cryptic, including leaf litter and soil, under tree bark or rocks. The fossil record of pseudoscorpions is mainly composed of species belonging to extinct genera in extant families, with a small number of taxa described from the famous Kachin amber, sometimes referred to as Burmese amber or Burmite (12 species in six families). Here, we describe a well preserved male specimen of pseudoscorpion from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, representing the first fossil record of Cheliferidae from Burmese amber. This new taxon, Echinochelifer curvatus gen. & sp. nov., is characterized by elongate tubercle-bearing pedipalps and several trichobothrial features. Based on these, we discuss the systematic placement and palaeoecological implications of the new taxon in Burmese amber.

Key words: Arachnida, false scorpions, new taxon, palaeoecology, taxonomy