A new coleopterous family Mesocinetidae fam. nov. (Coleoptera: Scirtoidea) from Late Mesozoic and notes on fossil remains from Shar-Teg (Upper Jurassic, South-Western Mongolia)

Abstract

The paper deals with the description of the new family, Mesocinetidae fam. nov., four new genera (Manoelodes gen. nov., Manopsis gen. nov., Parashartegus gen. nov. and Shartegus gen. nov.) and eight new species (Manoelodes gratiousus sp. nov., Manopsis concavicollis sp. nov., Mesocinetus aequalis sp. nov., M. angustitarsis sp. nov., M. elumbis sp. nov., M. subjectus sp. nov., Parashartegus distinctus sp. nov. and Shartegus transversus sp. nov.) originated from site Shar-Teg (South-Western Mongolia; Gobi-Altai ajmag) with the Upper Jurassic age. Other species of this new family (Mesocinetus mongolicus Ponomarenko, 1986 (Myangad, Hovd ajmag, West Mongolia) and M. ovatus Ponomarenko, 1990 (Undurga, Chitinskaya Region, Transbaikalia, Russia)) are known from the Lower Neocomian, Lower Cretaceous, although M. ovatus is temporally excluded from the genus Mesocinetus Ponomarenko, 1986. The key to the genera of this family is elaborated. Specimens of the new family found also in other places (Karatau (Upper Jurassic), Baissa (Lower Cretaceous), Khutel-Khara and Liaoning (both at the boundary between Jurassic and Cretaceous)) and can be expected in many Asian Late Mesozoic sites. This new family is rather similar to both families Scirtidae and Eucinetidae, sharing different characters with each of them. The structure of the superfamily Scirtoidea and placement of the new family are discussed. The composition of fossil animals and plants in the Shar-Teg sediments is reviewed and time of its formation is estimated.