New earwig nymphs (Dermaptera: Pygidicranidae) in mid-Cretaceous amber from France

A new genus and species of earwig is described and figured from Early Cretaceous (Latest Albian–Earliest Cenomanian) amber of southwestern France. The holotype was studied using traditional light microscopy as well as through propagation phase contrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography, rendering high resolution three-dimensional models for critical examination. Gallinympha walleri Perrichot & Engel, new genus and species, is represented by two late instar nymphs missing only portions of the abdomen, as well as most of the head for the paratype. The genus is a member of the Pygidicranidae, one of the most basal of living earwigs, and is distinguished from other taxa in the family. A thorough account of the specimen’s morphology is provided along with a detailed comparison with similar structures across a diversity of primitive earwig lineages.