Fossil diversity in 'dawn' hexapods (Diplura: Projapygoidea), with direct evidence for being chemically predaceous in the Cretaceous.

The article focuses on the discovery and analysis of fossilized Projapygidae, a family within the superfamily Projapygoidea of Diplura, which are primitively wingless hexapods related to insects. It reports three genera (two newly described) and four species preserved in mid-Cretaceous Myanmar and Miocene Dominican ambers, including Electroprojapyx alchemicus gen. et sp. nov., which is fossilized in the act of chemically spraying prey with a glandular secretion. This finding provides the first direct fossil evidence of offensive chemical predation among basal hexapods and reveals specialized morphological adaptations of the cerci used for expelling a viscous, silk-like substance to ensnare prey. The study expands the fossil record of Projapygidae, elucidates their predatory behavior, and contributes to understanding the paleoecology and evolutionary biology of early soil-dwelling arthropods.