Earliest fossil record of Phloeocharinae in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

Abstract

The earliest fossil record of Phloeocharinae, Angucharcotes thayerae gen. et sp. nov., is reported from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Angucharcotes shares characters with both Phloeocharis-related and Charhyphus-related lineages (e.g., mesoventrite with a median longitudinal carina, temple relatively long, basal tarsomeres unexpanded, pronotal and elytral margins crenulate/serrate, mesocoxae contiguous). The abruptly angulate temples of Angucharcotes are unique in Phloeocharinae. Our discovery of Phloeocharinae from mid-Cretaceous highlights the antiquity of this subfamily.