First fossil trichophyine rove beetle from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Trichophyinae)

Abstract

Trichophyinae is one of the smallest subfamilies of the megadiverse rove-beetle family Staphylinidae, with only 18 species in the single extant genus Trichophya Mannerheim. Here we describe the first fossil representative of Trichophyinae in mid-Cretaceous amber from Kachin, northern Myanmar. †Trichophya minor sp. nov. is unusual in having non-filiform thick antennae, similar to T. antennalis Cameron, 1932 from India, but this new species can readily be distinguished from the latter by having much smaller and smoother body. Our finding indicates that the subfamily had been originated by the Albian–Cenomanian boundary, also showing a potential Gondwanan distribution at that time. We also briefly discuss a miniaturization trend in the Burmese amber beetles.