†Electrorubesopsinae, a new subfamily from Cretaceous Burmese amber, as the possible sister group of Dynamopodinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Abstract

A new subfamily of Scarabaeidae, †Electrorubesopsinae Bai & Wang subfam. nov., is described from Cretaceous amber of Myanmar (earliest Cenomanian, ∼100 Ma) as the possible sister group of Dynamopodinae. †Electrorubesopsis beuteli Bai & Wang gen. et sp. nov. is the first species of this subfamily, which has probably been long extinct. Its external morphology was analysed and compared with all known genera of Dynamopodinae. A phylogenetic analysis based on 82 morphological characters suggests its placement in a sister relationship between †Electrorubesopsis and Orubesa. The hypothesis of a close relationship between Orubesa (Dynamopodini) and Thinorycter (Thinorycterini) is challenged. †Electrorubesopsis likely lived in a sandy environment or forest.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:15351B5E-337C-49D4-90F0-619269BD1E5A