biostudies-literatureFu YJiangsu Funding Program for Excellent Postdoctoral TalentVolkswagen FoundationAlexander von Humboldt-StiftungNational Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Key Research and Development Program of ChinaNatural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province11https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12802242biostudies-literatureUnknown24(1)<h4>Background</h4>Mimicry is an adaptive strategy widespread in modern ecosystems, yet its deep-time origins and evolution remain poorly understood due to the scarcity of unequivocal fossil evidence. Leaf mimicry has independently evolved in multiple insect lineages, reliable fossil evidence remains exceedingly rare and is primarily known from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.<h4>Results</h4>We report a highly specialised cicadomorphan forewing from the Guadalupian Yinping Formation of China (ca. 260 Ma) that exhibits a striking morphological resemblance to Sphenophyllum Brongniart, 1828, a groundcover widely distributed in late Paleozoic floras. An integrated assessment of wing morphology, geometric morphometric analysis, and the ecological association between the insect and the plant supports BMC biologyA unique Sphenophyllum-mimicking insect in the Permian.PMC12802242BK20241705416881032024YFF0807600Liu YCai CHuang DHaug CFu YHaug JTZhou WSong XfalseA unique Sphenophyllum-mimicking insect in the Permian.<h4>Background</h4>Mimicry is an adaptive strategy widespread in modern ecosystems, yet its deep-time origins and evolution remain poorly understood due to the scarcity of unequivocal fossil evidence. Leaf mimicry has independently evolved in multiple insect lineages, reliable fossil evidence remains exceedingly rare and is primarily known from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.<h4>Results</h4>We report a highly specialised cicadomorphan forewing from the Guadalupian Yinping Formation of China (ca. 260 Ma) that exhibits a striking morphological resemblance to Sphenophyllum Brongniart, 1828, a groundcover widely distributed in late Paleozoic floras. An integrated assessment of wing morphology, geometric morphometric analysis, and the ecological association between the insect and the plant supports 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Dec2026-06-06T13:18:17.465Z2026-05-31T03:07:23.808ZS-EPMC128022424136181710.1186/s12915-025-02487-2