An unusual elateroid lineage from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Elateroidea)

Yan-Da Li,Gabriela Packova,Di-Ying Huang,Chen-Yang Cai,Robin Kundrata

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-01398-w

Abstract

We here report a new elateroid, Anoeuma lawrencei Li, Kundrata and Cai gen. et sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Though superficially similar to some soft-bodied archostematans, Anoeuma could be firmly placed in the polyphagan superfamily Elateroidea based on the hind wing venation. Detailed morphological comparisons between extant elateroids and the Cretaceous fossils suggest that the unique character combination does not fit with confidence into any existing soft-bodied elateroid group, although some characters indicate possible relationships between Anoeuma and Omalisinae. Our discovery of this new lineage further demonstrates the past diversity and morphological disparity of soft-bodied elateroids.

Highlights

We here report a new elateroid, Anoeuma lawrencei Li, Kundrata and Cai gen. et sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber
The beetle superfamily Elateroidea is one of the major and oldest polyphagan g roups[1,2,3]. It contains a broad spectrum of forms; from the lineages with a hard body, clicking mechanism, and five abdominal ventrites of which at least some are connate through variously intermediate groups (e.g., Brachypsectridae and Jurasaidae) to the lineages with an extremely soft body with some morphological reductions, and seven to eight free abdominal ventrites connected with extensive m embranes[1,4,5]
There might be some deep homology in softbodied elateroids, different lineages still exhibit diverse morphology and may modify the developmental scheme in various w ays[11]

Summary

Introduction

We here report a new elateroid, Anoeuma lawrencei Li, Kundrata and Cai gen. et sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Detailed morphological comparisons between extant elateroids and the Cretaceous fossils suggest that the unique character combination does not fit with confidence into any existing softbodied elateroid group, some characters indicate possible relationships between Anoeuma and Omalisinae. Our discovery of this new lineage further demonstrates the past diversity and morphological disparity of soft-bodied elateroids. We report a new soft-bodied elateroid from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, which exhibits a unique character combination within the superfamily. We discuss morphology of the newly discovered fossil and compare it to other soft-bodied elateroids

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion