A new click beetle (Coleoptera: Elateridae) from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber underlines the need for an improved tribal classification of Elaterinae

Abstract

The fossil record of click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae) in Cretaceous has been only poorly documented so far. In this study, we describe Burmophysorhinus dusaneki gen. et sp. nov. based on a single, relatively well-preserved, specimen from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. This species represents the fourth species of the subfamily Elaterinae known from the Burmese amber. It is morphologically similar to the recently described Dariuszelater tarnawskii Zhao et al. 2022, with which it shares the complete frontal carina, strongly developed proximal portion of metacoxal plates, tibiae with strongly developed spurs, and long first tarsomeres. Based on this combination of characters, we tentatively place both taxa in the tribe Physorhinini. One of the principal characters usually used for the definition of Physorhinini is the presence of ventral lobe on each tarsomere III. Since this is not present in both fossil taxa, only further discoveries of Mesozoic Physorhinini may help to elucidate if they originally have had simple tarsi and only later during their evolution acquired ventrally lobate tarsomere III, or if they have both simple and lobate tarsomeres III already during their early diversification. The current concept of Physorhinini, as well as of all other tribes in Elaterinae, should be re-evaluated using more lines of evidence. Additionally, we added the identification key to the Elaterinae from Burmese amber.