Beetle Subfamily Research Articles

Contributions to the Knowledge of Nemognathinae (Coleoptera: Meloidae) from China.

Despite being the most widespread blister beetle subfamily, Nemognathinae is unfairly understudied in China. In this study, a new genus and species, Sinostenoria yangi Pan, from northern China is described and illustrated. The antennae, elytra, hind wings, and claws of the new genus form a truly unique set of characteristics never observed in other genera of Nemognathini Laporte de Castelnau, 1840. Three species from China are newly recorded and illustrated: Megatrachelus sibiricus (Tauscher, 1812), Zonitomorpha dollei (Fairmaire 1889), and Stenodera djakonovi Aksentjev, 1978. The genus Oreomeloe Tan, 1981, is transferred from the tribe Meloini Gyllenhal, 1910, to Nemognathini based on an examination of the types. Aiming to test the morphology-based placement of the new genus, we conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses using two mitochondrial (COI, 16S) and three nuclear markers (28S, CAD, ITS2). The results confirm our tribal assignment of the new genus and support a clade that consists of Sinostenoriagen. n., Longizonitis Pan and Bologna, 2018, Stenoria cf. grandiceps, and Ctenopus cf. persicus.

Global macroecological patterns in host plant associations of Cryptocephalinae case-bearer leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Abstract The aim of our work is to catalogue host plant records of the leaf beetle subfamily Cryptocephalinae at the global scale and use it as the foundation to analyse host plant relationships, one proposed key driver in the evolution of phytophagan hyperdiversity. We describe macro-scale host association patterns and assess the trophic range of Cryptocephalinae at the generic level. We assembled 532 sources and extracted 14 253 host plant records (1894 species of plants) for 1436 species of Cryptocephalinae. The results revealed that most genera of Cryptocephalinae are either polyphagous or strongly polyphagous, yet the five tribes exhibit intrinsic patterns of host association. Clear macroecological constraints exist for Cryptocephalinae within major lineages of plants. Polyphagy is also maintained for most of the documented juvenile stages and the 19 genera with myrmecophilous species. The most common host plants for Cryptocephalinae are eudicots, especially among the rosids the order Fabales has the most records, and Asterales, Fagales, Malpighiales, Myrtales, Rosales, and Sapindales are common hosts within all Cryptocephalinae tribes. Our meta-analysis approach and assessing the quality of host plant records permit detection of patterns in host association at the global scale and allows detection of all levels of plant–beetle interactions, from unlikely hosts to potential or real feeders. Our criteria for assessing host plant records and our working model can be applied to other chrysomelid subfamilies and phytophagous insects. The analysis of macroecological patterns and host checklist provide a basis for generic revisions and hypothesis construction in future ecological, molecular, and morphological studies.

Earliest fossil record of Tachyporini rove beetles in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber from northern Myanmar (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Tachyporinae)

The rove beetle subfamily Tachyporinae has recently been revised. Fossil records of the newly reclassified tribe Tachyporini are relatively rare, with only one definitive Mesozoic fossil from Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) New Jersey amber in the United States. Here, a new Tachyporini species, Tachyporus burmiticus sp. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous (Albian–Cenomanian) Kachin amber of northern Myanmar, and tentatively placed in the extant genus TachyporusGravenhorst, 1802 of the subtribe Tachyporina. The discovery stands as the earliest fossil record of Tachyporini, highlighting potentially greater phylogenetic paleodiversity of tachyporine rove beetles in Kachin amber. Furthermore, this finding sheds new light on the paleodiversity and wider distribution of the tribe and subtribe during the Cretaceous.

Biology of Callistethus plagiicollis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Rutelinae) and comparative morphology of its larvae.

Larvae of the beetle subfamily Rutelinae are poorly described in the literature. Notably, the morphology of the larvae of Callistethus plagiicollis Fairmaire has not previously been analyzed. Here, we report for the first time that these larvae feed on the tubers and roots of Gastrodia elata Blume, an important traditional Chinese herbal medicine, which causes a reduction in the yield and economic value of G. elata. We employed scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy to investigate the morphology and occurrence regularity of egg, larvae, pupae, and adult specimens of C. plagiicollis collected from the G. elata planting base in Guizhou Province, China, with a focus on the ultrastructure of mature larvae. The results revealed one generation of C. plagiicollis per year in the study area and three instar stages of larvae. Mature larvae were identified by the following characteristics: raster without palidia with a large number of hamate setae, antennal apex containing seven sensilla basiconica, larval haptomerum containing eight sensilla styloconica and four enlarged heli, and seven longitudinally arranged stridulatory teeth on the stipes of the maxilla. The combination of scanning electron and light microscopy effectively revealed the difference between membranous and sclerotized structures, ensuring accurate identification of C. plagiicollis larvae. By determining the feeding characteristics and occurrence regularity of C. plagiicollis, this study has implications for improved pest management in G. elata crops. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We identified C. plagiicollis as a new pest of G. elata, a traditional Chinese medicine Scanning electron and light microscopy were combined to analyze the morphology of the mature larvae of C. plagiicollis for the first time We determined the feeding characteristics and occurrence regularity of C. plagiicollis, which can be used to develop effective pest management strategies.

Phylogenetic analyses of the subfamily Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) provide new insights into the Mexican Transition Zone theory.

Being areas of biotic overlap located between biogeographic regions, transition zones function as natural laboratories. The present study explores the phylogenetic history of the dung beetle subfamily Scarabaeinae, in order to present an evolutionary scenario that allows inference of the biogeographic history of the Mexican Transition Zone (MTZ) and integration of the distributional patterns of its biota. The species sampling included 94 New World taxa (93 species of Scarabaeinae and one species of Aphodiinae). The phylogenetic relationships of the main clades recovered in our study were supported with PP values 0.95. Based on the BAYAREALIKE model to reconstruct the ancestral distributional patterns of Scarabaeinae, we inferred a complex scenario with 19 dispersal events, 15 vicariance events, and three extinctions. We suggest that the Ancient Neotropical and Tropical Paleoamerican patterns represent the most likely ancestral distributional patterns for the Scarabaeinae of the MTZ, which probably settle there during the Eocene-Oligocene. The rest of the Scarabaeinae distributional patterns were assembled in subsequent periods. The results suggest that the MTZ had two separate formation stages: a Paleo-MTZ (Eocene-Miocene) and a current MTZ (Pliocene-Anthropocene). We conclude that the evolutionary history as well as the dispersal-vicariance scenario for the Scarabaeinae of the MTZ fits the out of the tropics model.

A ‘giant’ Paleocene cerambycid (Coleoptera) from Menat Konservat-Lagerstätte, France

Palaeosphryon menatensis gen. et sp. nov., first unambiguous representative of the longhorn beetle subfamily Prioninae from the Paleocene of Menat (France), is described and illustrated. The new fossil is placed into the tribe Prionini, showing some similarities with some species of the extant genera Osphryon (Papua New Guinea) and Titanus (Brazil, Colombia, Guianas, Ecuador, Peru), viz. in general body shape, antennomere 3 as long as first and second together but shorter than the length of fourth plus fifth, elongate elytra, and small spines on the lateral margin of the pronotum disposed in a relatively similar way as in Osphryon. Nevertheless, the exact affinities of the new fossil within the Prionini remain uncertain because of the lack of a recent phylogenetic analysis in which it could be integrated. This fossil beetle is exceptional for its very large size, with a body 70 mm long. Some other large longhorn beetles have been found in the same outcrop, and are awaiting description. The positions of the previously described Cerambycidae from Menat are also discussed. This exceptional fauna of Cerambycidae is in accordance with the current palaeoenvironmental reconstruction for the Menat Konservat-Lagerstätte, as a small maar lake surrounded by a warm and humid, probably evergreen forest.

Two new species of ant-loving beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) from Jiulong National Wetland Park, China.

Continued collecting efforts at the Jiulong National Wetland Park, Zhejiang, East China revealed two additional species of the ant-loving beetle subfamily Pselaphinae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae): Trisiniotus jiulong sp. nov. and Arthromelodes lianghongbini sp. nov. Both new species are diagnosed, described, and their important characters are illustrated.

Notes on jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in Türkiye

New data are presented on the distribution of 58 species and subspecies in the European and Asiatic part of Türkiye, which belong to 16 genera and six subfamilies of jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Notably, this research confirms the presence of Anthaxia (Anthaxia) fulgurans (Schrank, 1789), Eurythyrea quercus (Herbst, 1780) and E. aurata (Pallas, 1776) within the Turkish fauna. Anthaxia (A.) semicuprea Küster, 1851 is new for the European Türkiye. The exact localities in this country of Chalcophora intermedia intermedia (Rey, 1890), Cyphosoma paganettii Obenberger, 1914, C. veselyi Obenberger, 1925, Dicerca amphibia Marseul, 1865 and D. moesta (Fabricius, 1792) are reported for the first time. Some distinguishing characters of Agrilus (Quercuagrilus) graminis Kiesenwetter, 1857 and A. (Q.) hastulifer (Ratzeburg, 1837) allowing their better identification are given as well.

Anisandrusbolavenensis sp. nov. (Col.: Curculionidae, Scolytinae, Xyleborini), a new ambrosia beetle from Laos.

The ambrosia beetle genus Anisandrus Ferrari, 1867, is a member of the bark and ambrosia beetle subfamily Scolytinae, Tribe Xyleborini. Currently, it is comprised of 40 species of which four species were recorded in Laos. A new species, Anisandrusbolavenensis sp. nov. is described from the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos. With the inclusion of the species described and recorded here, the diversity of Anisandrus is increased to 41 species, of which five occur in Laos. New distribution records, a synoptic list and a key to the Anisandrus of Laos PDR are presented.

Пропозиції щодо уніфікації національної номенклатури скрипунових (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) із фавни України та деяких екзотів. Частина IV: підродина (Lamiinae)

The current study is a continuation of our research on the unification of the Ukrainian vernacular nomenclature of the longhorn beetles of the fauna of Ukraine. In the first part of our study, we unified and codified Ukrainian vernacular nomenclature of two subfamilies including Spondilidinae and Prioninae, in the second—Cerambycinae, in the third—Lepturinae and Necydalinae. In the fourth part, we considered the largest and final subfamily of the longhorn beetles in the fauna of Ukraine—flat-faced longhorns (Lamiinae). As a result, 156 taxa of flat-faced longhorns of various ranks were identified, for which there are scientific (Latin) names. These belong to 13 subspecies, 103 species, 29 genera and 10 tribes and 1 subfamily. The analysis of providing these taxa with Ukrainian vernacular names showed that only 52 of them (40 species and 12 genera) have counterparts known in the literature. However, only half of them is suitable for further use in a unified Ukrainian vernacular nomenclature. The other studied names are non-binominal (for species), denote the names of two or more genera at the same time, contain appositions or compound words written with a hyphen, transferred from Russian or transliterated from Latin. An analysis of the demand for Ukrainian vernacular nomenclature of the flat-faced longhorns in several biodiversity databases showed that all of them provide option for use of Ukrainian names. Moreover, some of them, in the absence of the Ukrainian nomenclature, replace it with an English-language one. The unification of the flat-faced longhorns names included the introduction of a universal system of name convention, as close as possible to scientific and at the same time specifically national, reflecting the traditions of Ukrainian nomenclature. The result of our study was the unification and codification in Ukrainian of 156 vernacular names of taxa of the subfamily of flat-faced longhorns, 122 of which are proposed for the first time. The use of the proposed Ukrainian names is of exclusively advisory and cannot replace valid scientific names. In scientific and technical publications, popular science, fiction and educational texts, in oral communication, it is desirable to accompany scientific Latin names in Ukrainian.

Rove beetle communities (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in the rock dumps after coal mining

Rock dumps formed as a result of coal mining are unique model for studying the rove beetle communities. In total 60 species, 38 genera, 7 subfamilies of rove beetles were registered using soil traps. The greatest diversity of rove beetles was noted in forb-grass meadows (H` = 2.89) and pine plantations (H` = 2.39). The diversity of rove beetles was low (H` = 1.11) in birch and aspen-fir forests despite the greater number of revealed species. Only two eurytopic and mesophilic species (Drusilla canaliculata and Xantholinus linearis) were dominant in the rock dumps. Most of the rove beetles were eurytopic or forest species, zoophagous or mixophagous, mesophilous or hygrophilous. The number of eurytopic species and obligate predators increased, and the dynamic density of beetles decreased from older to younger dumps. The number of rove beetles depended on the soil temperature and humidity and the vegetation cover. Rove beetle communities are good indicators for monitoring the restoration of areas that have been technically degraded.

Diversity Phenomenon of the Danaceinae Malachite Beetle Subfamily (Coleoptera: Dasytidae) in Eocene Baltic Amber with a New Description of an Extinct Genus and Species

A new malachite beetle, Baltamauroania mirabilicornis gen. et sp. nov., belonging to the tribe Amauroniodini (Coleoptera: Dasytidae) embedded in Eocene Baltic amber is described and illustrated. The new genus differs from the congeners of the tribe Amauroniodini in possessing a black, elongated, and subparallel body and a pronotum with scalloped lateral sides; long and 11-segmented antennae, with three apical antennomeres enlarged and forming a ‘club’ shape, with cylindrical antennomere 1; tarsi shortened and compressed, 5-segmented, with tarsomeres 1 and 2 equal in length, and tarsomere 5 the longest in all legs; pubescence of the dorsal surface consisting of short strong brown semi-erect and fine adpressed setae; punctation of dorsal surface irregular, elytra lacking grooves; pronotum almost equilateral, slightly elongated, with acute anterior and obtuse posterior angles, with wide margination of basal side and with scalloped and finely margined lateral sides; lateral edges of pronotum weakly rounded, with obtuse protuberance before middle. This is the second extinct genus and third record of the subfamily Danaceinae found in Eocene amber. The fossil records of the family Dasytidae are discussed. Three recent records of different Amauroniodini taxa from Eocene East European amber (Baltic and Rovno) show there to have been a high Danaceinae biodiversity in both the southern coast of the Subparatethys (documented by Rovno amber) and in its northern coast (documented by Baltic amber). The phenomenon of Danaceinae diversity in the Eocene Epoch is discussed.

Discovery of the rove beetle subfamily Trichophyinae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in Upper Cretaceous Taimyr amber, Siberia, Russia

The monogeneric rove beetle subfamily Trichophyinae (genus Trichophya) is reported from Upper Cretaceous Taimyr amber from Yantardakh in northern Siberia. The Taimyr specimen of Trichophya is assigned to the “pilicornis species-group” which contains the majority of extant species. It is differentiated from the single known trichophyine fossil Trichophya minor Yamamoto and Newton, 2021 from ca. 99 Ma mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber, which is placed in the “antennalis species-group” together with one recent species. Together with Trichophya minor, our newly discovered fossil Trichophya species demonstrates that the two morphologically different recent Trichophya species groups were already present far back in time. The taxonomy, biogeography and paleoecology of the Taimyr amber Trichophya is placed in the context of the known morphology, distribution and habitat requirements of the extant species.

Parabolitobius antiquus sp. nov., the first Mesozoic amber inclusion of mycetoporine rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Mycetoporinae)

The rove beetle subfamily Tachyporinae was recently divided into the Tachyporinae and Mycetoporinae subfamilities. Fossil records of mycetoporines are relatively rare, and no Mesozoic amber fossils belonging to this subfamily have been reported. In this study, a new species of the extant Palearctic genus Parabolitobius Li, Zhao & Sakai, 2000, Parabolitobius antiquus sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on a remarkably well-preserved single male adult specimen found in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber from northern Myanmar. This discovery represents the first Mesozoic amber inclusion of mycetoporine rove beetles and raises the possibility that the genus was widely distributed across Pangea with later global extinction.www.zoobank.org:pub:8FD4ED8A-B65E-4A3F-90FB-F5B5D230D731.

A new type of feeding trace caused by a donaciine beetle (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) on a leaf from the Paleocene of Menat (France)

The lacustrine Lagerstätte of Menat (Puy-de-Dôme, France) provides a unique window into the terrestrial Paleocene environments of Western Europe (Wedmann et al., 2018). It has shown an exceptional diversity of plants (leaves, flowers, seeds, pollen), and animals (vertebrates and arthropods, especially insects) (e.g., Piton, 1940). Wappler et al. (2009) made a first analysis of the animals-plants interactions. Recent extensive researches were made, allowing to collect an important set of leaves with numerous and diverse traces of activities, some of them being not previously recorded among the total of 1,130 specimens of leaves, fruits and flowers studied by Wappler et al. (2009). Among the new material, we found three curious sets of traces on a small leaf that do not correspond to anything previously listed by Labandeira et al. (2007). These traces can be attributed to the beetle subfamily Donaciinae (Chrysomelidae).

Fossil Cymbiodyta from Baltic amber confirms Euro-American ancient distribution of the genus (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)

We describe the first definite fossil of the water scavenger beetle subfamily Enochrinae (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae): Cymbiodyta samueli sp. n. from the Eocene Baltic amber from the Lithuanian coast. The new species is extremely similar and likely closely related to the only European species, C. marginella and confirms the European occurrence of the genus since the Eocene. A reanalysis of the historical biogeography of the genus, including the fossil taxon, revealed a wide Euro-American distribution of the ancestor of all modern species of the genus, corresponding to the position of landmasses and existing land connections between North America and Europe in the Late Cretaceous. The biogeographic reconstructions and the fossil both suggest that European Cymbiodyta is an ancient relict lineage which used to be more diverse in the past but survived until today in a single species C. marginella .

The earliest fossil record of the extant rove beetle genus Phloeocharis from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber of northern Myanmar and its biogeographic implications (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Phloeocharinae)

Phloeocharis Mannerheim is the largest genus within the problematic rove beetle subfamily Phloeocharinae, with a single extinct and 44 recent species recorded from the Holarctic region. Until now, the oldest fossil record of Phloeocharis was known from Late Cretaceous (Turonian) amber from New Jersey, USA. Here we describe †Phloeocharis burmana n. sp. from mid-Cretaceous (Albian–Cenomanian) Kachin amber from northern Myanmar, as the earliest extinct species of this genus. Our finding also sheds light on the biogeography of Phloeocharis, since no recent or extinct species have so far been recorded from the Oriental Region. Furthermore, the discovery of †P. burmana n. sp. extends the Mesozoic diversity of the phloeocharine rove beetles both taxonomically and morphologically, particularly from Kachin amber.

Paraphloeostiba dominicana sp. nov.: The first omaliine rove beetle from Dominican amber (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae)

Paraphloeostiba dominicana Shavrin & Jenkins Shaw, sp. nov. from mid-Miocene Dominican amber is described and illustrated. It represents the first species of the rove beetle subfamily Omaliinae from this Neotropical fossil deposit and represents a genus that is not known among the extant fauna of the Neotropics. The new species, embedded within a large piece of amber, was scanned using X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT), to enable the study of its morphology, including the male genitalia (aedeagus). Based on the revealed characters, the new species is compared with extant and extinct species of the genus Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1960 whose wide extant distribution is confined to the (sub)tropical zones of the world except the Neotropical region and whose fossil record is otherwise known from two species preserved in Eocene Baltic amber from Denmark and Russia. The systematic placement of the genus within the tribe Omaliini, its current and historical ecology and biogeography, as well as the probability that it will be found in the recent Neotropical fauna among the unrevised and undescribed species of Omaliinae are discussed.

Evolutionary assessment of the rove beetle subfamily Proteininae Erichson, 1839 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) triggered by the X-ray based description of its first fossil in Baltic amber from Denmark

ABSTRACT The taxonomic composition, phylogeny, ecology, biology, behaviour, and fossil record of Proteininae Erichson, 1839 is reviewed to place the first Eocene fossil specimen from Baltic amber in the knowledge framework of this rove beetle subfamily. The Baltic amber fossil is a poorly preserved female which was examined using X-ray micro-computed tomography (μ-CT). It is assigned to the genus Proteinus Latreille, which is represented by 53 extant species in the world fauna, most of which occur in the north temperate areas of the globe. Due to a shortage of data, this newly discovered fossil could not be identified to the species level. However, it is the first known fossil of Proteinus, which indicates that the genus has been present since at least the Late Eocene. Together with other fossils, and what is so far known about the phylogeny of Proteininae and allied groups, it suggests that while the subfamily Proteininae dates back at least to the mid-Cretaceous, its species-rich lineages may be significantly younger. Open questions about the evolution of Proteininae, including reasons for the mainly bipolar geographical distribution of its extant members or the imbalanced diversity with recent Proteinus and Megarthrus from Proteinini being the only species-rich taxa with a global distribution, are discussed. Proteinus sp. from Baltic amber is a valuable piece of evidence for future research in this direction.

New Burmese Amber Rove Beetle Fossils Assigned to the Rare Extant Subfamily Coomaniinae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae).

Simple SummaryThe rove beetle subfamily Coomaniinae is incredibly rare, currently comprised of one described and several undescribed species of the genus Coomania in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. Contrary to most rove beetle groups, the subfamily is only known based on a handful of specimens. Coomaniinae is the sister group to the subfamily Staphylininae, which, in contrast, is mega-diverse and abundant in terrestrial habitats globally. In this paper we describe three new species of Coomania preserved as fossils from Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber (ca. 99 million years old).The Mesozoic, ca. 99-million-year-old Burmese amber is an incredible source of fossil beetles that have been very actively studied in recent times and have already significantly improved our knowledge about the evolution of the large family of Staphylinidae, the rove beetles. Nevertheless, new extinct taxa of high phylogenetic interest are being discovered, among which the following three rove beetle species are described here: Coomania megistos sp. nov., Coomania enkarsios sp. nov. and Coomania yini sp. nov. These fossils preserved enough morphological characters to be identified as members of the rove beetle lineage formed by Staphylininae and allied subfamilies. Based on the fragments of morphology available for observation, they are hypothesized to be the extinct members of the extant rare monobasic subfamily Coomaniinae, sister to the recently mega-diverse and abundant Staphylininae. Limitations of the available fossil material prompted us to place the new species in the extant, monobasic genus Coomania Cameron, 1939, pending a more refined generic placement when more characters become available via additional material or advanced examination techniques. The odd morphology and rarity of the extant members of Coomaniinae restricted to Southeast Asia and Northern Australia make them an enigmatic subfamily among the hyper-diverse Staphylinidae. The newly described fossils, albeit without sufficient details concealed by imperfect preservation, shed some light on the past diversity of Coomaniinae and its divergence from Staphylininae.