page_title: Gyaclavator
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Gyaclavator / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Fig 3. Morphological aspects of the paratypes of Gyaclavator kohlsi. A. Paratype. USNM 578171; male in ventral view. Scale bar represent 0.5 mm.
context_page_description: Gyaclavator is an extinct genus of lace bug in the family Tingidae known from a fossil found in North America. The genus contains a single species, Gyaclavator kohlsi.
context_section_description: The known G. kohlsi fossils are all males, preserved with whole bodies but missing portions of the legs or antennae. The holotype and two of the paratypes are preserved in ventral view while the fourth paratype is in dorsal preservation and missing the forward area and antennae.  The holotype is 5.5 mm (0.22 in) from the ends of the hemelytra to the tip of the head.  The three paratypes are 5.0 mm (0.20 in), 5.4 mm (0.21 in), and 5.0 mm (0.20 in) long respectively.  In all the specimens the well developed hemelytra project past the tip of the abdomen and the bodies have an overall ovoid shape.  The heads have a long rostrum, laying along the head and ending almost at the abdomen. The eyes are round and project from out from the sides of the head. There are three raised carinae which run along the pronotum. The antennae, which are as long as the head to the abdomen, are made up of four segments. Antennomere three is the longest and antennomere two is shortest. The final segment is flared into a petal form, with a ridge separating them into a wider side and a longer side.
  Given the unique flaring of the distiflagellomere (the last segment of the antennae), it is possible the antennae were used in male to male competition displays, or in female courtship, though they may have only been used for sensory input. The species is the first known example of distinct visual display structuring in Tingidae antennae. Similar modification of antennae segments is seen in the leaf footed bug genera Chariesterus and Chondrocera who use them in aerial displays competing with nearby males to attract females.
caption: G. kohlsi paratype
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