# Caputoraptor

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Extinct genus of insects

Caputoraptor Temporal range: Albian–Cenomanian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Clade: Pancrustacea Class: Insecta Family: †Alienopteridae Genus: †Caputoraptor Bai et al., 2018 Type species †Caputoraptor elegans Bai et al., 2018 Other species †C. vidit Šmídová, Vršanský & Wang in Vršanský et al. (2018) †C. ganggu Vršanský et al., 2025

***Caputoraptor*** is an extinct genus of insect from the [Cretaceous](/source/Cretaceous) period of [Southeast Asia](/source/Southeast) and [East Asia](/source/East_Asia). The genus contains two species from the [Burmese amber](/source/Burmese_amber) ([Cenomanian](/source/Cenomanian)) of Myanmar, the [type species](/source/Type_species) ***C. elegans*** and the second species ***C. vidit***, and one species from the [Jinju Formation](/source/Jinju_Formation) ([Albian](/source/Albian)) of South Korea, ***C. ganggu***.[1] It is part of the extinct order [Alienoptera](/source/Alienoptera). *C. elegans* is notable for the presence of a scissor like mechanism consisting of a straight edge on the back of the head and corresponding serrated edges on the first thoracic segment, these were initially suggested to be used by the female to grasp the male during mating, but the structure is not [sexually dimorphic](/source/Sexual_dimorphism), so a use to hold prey was subsequently suggested.[2] Its morphology suggests a predatory habit inhabiting shrubs and trees.[3] In 2020 a *Caputoraptor elegans* nymph was described that was in the process of being predated upon by a *[Ceratomyrmex](/source/Ceratomyrmex)* [hell ant](/source/Haidomyrmecinae).[4]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Vršanský, Peter; Lee, Soo Bin; Sohn, Jae-Cheon; Vršanská, Lucia; Jang, Jun-Hyeok; Nam, Gi Soo (May 15, 2025). ["Jinju cockroaches"](https://geo.sav.sk/files/vrsansky/VrsanskyEtAl_2025.pdf) (PDF). *Amba projekty*. **15** (1): 1–151.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Kočárek, Petr (August 2018). ["The cephalo-thoracic apparatus of Caputoraptor elegans may have been used to squeeze prey"](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cub.2018.06.046). *Current Biology*. **28** (15): R824–R825. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.046](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cub.2018.06.046). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [30086312](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30086312).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Ming Bai; Rolf Georg Beutel; Weiwei Zhang; Shuo Wang; Marie Hörnig; Carsten Gröhn; Evgeny Yan; Xingke Yang; Benjamin Wipfler (2018). ["A new Cretaceous insect with a unique cephalo-thoracic scissor device"](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cub.2017.12.031). *Current Biology*. **28** (3): 438–443.e1. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.031](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cub.2017.12.031). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [29395923](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29395923).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Barden, Phillip; Perrichot, Vincent; Wang, Bo (August 2020). ["Specialized Predation Drives Aberrant Morphological Integration and Diversity in the Earliest Ants"](https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-02915953/file/S0960982220310009.pdf) (PDF). *Current Biology*. **30** (19): 3818–3824.e4. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.106](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cub.2020.06.106). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [32763171](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32763171).

Taxon identifiers Caputoraptor Wikidata: Q56275467 Wikispecies: Caputoraptor GBIF: 9817093 Open Tree of Life: 7702090 Paleobiology Database: 365850 Taxonomicon: 6442893

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Caputoraptor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caputoraptor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caputoraptor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.