First artematopodid beetle in Mexican amber and its biogeographic implications (Coleoptera, Artematopodidae)

Abstract

Wu, H., Coty, D. & Ding, M., 10.4.2015. First artematopodid beetle in Mexican amber and its biogeographic implications (Coleoptera, Artematopodidae). Alcheringa 39, xxx-xxx. ISSN 0311-5518Artematopodidae is a small polyphagan family forming one of the basal lineages of Elateroidea. Fossil artematopodids are rare and thus far confined to Eocene Baltic amber. Here, we report the first artematopodid, Electribius palaeomexicanus sp. nov., from Mexican amber. The fossil is placed in Electribius as supported by the following combination of characters: the presence of a setose cavity between the antennal insertion and eye, a shallow groove at the base of the pronotum connecting a pair of cavities, the elytral sutural stria deepened at the apex, and having an indistinct median part of suture between abdominal ventrites 3–5. Electribius palaeomexicanus is compared with all known Electribius species, and it is easily distinguished by its body colour, intercoxal process shape, and length of the longitudinal median ridge on ventrite 5. The new discovery suggests that the modern Central American endemic Electribius has survived in this region at least since the mid-Miocene. It provides new insights into the origin and evolution of Electribius through the Cenozoic.Hao Wu [mason007343@163.com] and Ming Ding [dijanet@163.com], Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, No. 6 of West Lake Culture Plaza, Hangzhou, 310014, PR China; David Coty [coty.david@gmail.com], Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB, UMR 7205 CNRS UPMC EPHE, CP50, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France.