A preliminary synopsis on amber scorpions with special reference to Burmite species: an extraordinary development of our knowledge in only 20 years.

Wilson R Lourenço

doi:10.3897/zookeys.600.8913

Abstract

A preliminary study on fossil scorpions found in amber, from the Lower Cretaceous through the Palaeocene and up to the Miocene is proposed. Scorpions remain rare among the arthropods found trapped in amber. Only 24 specimens are known from Cretaceous amber, representing eight families and subfamilies, ten genera and 21 species; in parallel, 10 specimens have been recorded from Baltic amber representing seven genera and ten species. A few more recent fossils from Dominican and Mexican amber have also been described. The present study of a new scorpion specimen from the Cretaceous amber of Myanmar (Burmite) resulted in the description of one new species, Betaburmesebuthus bellus sp. n. – belonging to the subfamily Palaeoburmesebuthinae Lourenço, 2015. The new description brings further elements to the clarification of the status of this subfamily, which is now raised to family level. Once again, this new Burmite element attests to the considerable degree of diversity in the Burmese amber-producing forests.

Highlights

Among the fossil arthropods found in amber, scorpions remain extremely rare
Even if some new taxa from Dominican and Mexican amber are yet to be described, the amber fossils found in these regions of the world seem in all cases closely related to the extant scorpion taxa of the Caribbean and North/Central America
Even more relevant was the description, in the last 15 years, of 24 specimens from Cretaceous amber, representing eight families and subfamilies, ten genera and 21 species. These fossil scorpions trapped in Cretaceous amber can be dated from 135 to 90 Ma

Summary

Introduction

Among the fossil arthropods found in amber, scorpions remain extremely rare. The renewal of studies on scorpions trapped in amber began in the early 1980s when a few specimens from Dominican and Mexican amber were described (Schawaller 1979, 1982; Santiago-Blay and Poinar Jr. 1988, 1993; Santiago-Blay et al 1990). Even more relevant was the description, in the last 15 years, of 24 specimens from Cretaceous amber, representing eight families and subfamilies, ten genera and 21 species.

Results

Conclusion