Evgeny V. Yan

The earliest known longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae: Prioninae) and implications for the early evolution of Chrysomeloidea

Mesozoic fossils of longhorn beetles, leaf beetles and other Chrysomeloidea are extremely rare, and little is known about the early evolutionary history of this extraordinarily diverse superfamily of beetles. Here we report the earliest known fossil cerambycid, Cretoprionus liutiaogouensis gen. et sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. C. liutiaogouensis bears several features characteristic of the extant subfamily Prioninae, including a large and robust body, absence of a stridulatory plate on the mesonotum, pseudotetramerous tarsi, mouthparts projecting forwards, and lateral carinae on the prothorax. It represents the only definite Mesozoic record of Cerambycidae, and extends the time of origin of the Prioninae as early as the Early Cretaceous. We incorporate two new calibration points as minimum constraints on the age of (1) Prioninae + Parandrinae and (2) Bruchinae using data from a recent molecular phylogenetic study of Chrysomeloidea, to reconstruct divergence times among the major lineages of Chrysomeloidea. Our analyses suggest that most chrysomeloid families appeared in the Jurassic and diversified over the course of the Cretaceous, a scenario consistent with the codiversification of Chrysomeloidea and their (predominantly) angiospermous hosts; however, the phylogeny of Chrysomeloidea remains incompletely resolved, and further elucidation of timing and patterns of chrysomeloid macroevolution will require additional study. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0FF28F2E-026E-4408-9CF6-D61B6197548E

First Rove Beetles from the Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed of Australia (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae)

Abstract The first two rove beetle fossils discovered from the Late Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in New South Wales, Australia are described and illustrated. Juroglypholoma talbragarense n. sp. is the second fossil record for one of the smallest and latest recognized staphylinid subfamily Glypholomatinae. The other staphylinid, Protachinus minor n. gen. n. sp., is an unusual member of extant subfamily Tachyporinae (tribe Tachyporini). It significantly retains several distinct features, including entire epistomal suture, and abdominal tergites III–VI each with a pair of basolateral ridges. The discovery of a new glypholomatine in Australia, together with recently reported one from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou biota of China, suggests the subfamily Glypholomatinae was probably much more widespread in the Jurassic than previously thought.

Upper Jurassic Lagerstätte Shar Teg, southwestern Mongolia

One of the most interesting Mesozoic Lagerstätten, Shar Teg in southwestern Mongolia, is reviewed. The geological structure and oryctocoenoses of Shar Teg are described. Shar Teg is one of the most diverse Jurassic Lagerstätten in terms of fossils represented. Fossils from Shar Teg include aquatic and terrestrial plants, mollusks, crustaceans, insects, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Insects are the most diverse group. To date, a total of 297 species of 161 families and 22 orders have been described or recorded in Shar Teg, making it possible to reconstruct comprehensively the Jurassic biota of the locality. The oryctocoenosis composition is peculiar; it includes only six species described from other localities. The oryctocoenosis appears to link the faunas of eastern Asia, Central Asia, and Europe. A total of 31 new species are described.

A new genus of Elateriform beetles (Coleoptera, Polyphaga) from the Jurassic of Daohugou, China

A new coleopteran genus, Parelateriformius, gen. nov., comprising the species P. communis, sp. nov., P. villosus, sp. nov., P. capitifossus, sp. nov., and P. mirabdominis, sp. nov., is described from Daohugou deposits, Inner Mongolia, China, and is assigned to the infraorder Elateriformia. The systematic position of the new genus within the suborder Polyphaga is discussed.

Ommatin beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) from the Lower Cretaceous of northeast China and southern England

Lower Cretaceous beetles belonging to the extant tribe Ommatini (Coleoptera: Cupedidae: Ommatinae) are revised and six new species proposed in the extinct Eurasian genus Cionocoleus : Cionocoleus tanae sp. n., Cionocoleus olympicus sp. n. (Yixian Formation, China); Cionocoleus elizabethae sp. n., Cionocoleus watsoni sp. n., Cionocoleus minimus sp. n. (Weald Clay Group, UK); and Cionocoleus jepsoni sp. n. (Purbeck Limestone Group, UK). New morphological data is provided for Cionocoleus magicus and Cionocoleus cervicalis stat. n. of which Cionocoleus planiusculus is considered a synonym (Yixian Formation). Cionocoleus punctatus comb. n. is considered the oldest record (Upper Jurassic; Kazakhstan) of this presumably xylophagous, warm climate genus. A simple key is provided to all known species of Cionocoleus .

A new genus of Elateriform beetles (Coleoptera, Polyphaga) from the Middle-Late Jurassic of Karatau

A new coleopteran genus, Anacapitis gen. nov., comprising A. karataviensis sp. nov., A. incertus sp. nov., and A. oblongus sp. nov., is described from the Karabastau Formation of the Karatau locality (southern Kazakhstan, Middle-Late Jurassic) in the infraorder Elateriformia. The systematic position of the new genus within the suborder Polyphaga is discussed.

New Beetle Species of the Formal Genus Artematopodites (Coleoptera: Polyphaga), with Remarks on the Taxonomic Position of the Genera Ovivagina and Sinonitidulina

Three new beetle species of the formal genus Artematopoides, i.e., A. maximus sp. nov., A. crispulus sp. nov., and A. lepidus sp. nov., from the Mongolian Shar-Teg locality are described. Early Jurassic Ovivagina propinqua Zhang, 1997, O. prolixa Zhang, 1997, and O. insculpta Zhang, 1997 from the Junggar Basin (Xinjiang, China) and Middle Jurassic Sinonitidulina longa Hong, 1983 from the Zhouyingzi locality (Hebei, China) are transferred to Artematopoides, and the three species from Xinjiang are redescribed. Ovivagina immediata Zhang, 1997 is synonymized with O. insculpta Zhang, 1997. A new name, Artematopodites leskoviensis Yan, nom. nov., is proposed for A. longus Ponomarenko, 1990, which proved to be a junior secondary homonym of A. longa (Hong, 1983).

†Peltosynidae, a new beetle family from the Middle–Late Triassic of Kyrgyzstan: its affinities with Polyphaga (Insecta, Coleoptera) and the groundplan of this megadiverse suborder

Middle–Late Triassic fossil beetles previously assigned to Polyphaga incertae sedis and new material from this period are described and illustrated. †Peltosynidae fam. nov. is introduced to contain the type genus Peltosyne, and species P. triassica Ponomarenko, 1977, together with the new species P. varyvrosa sp. nov. Two new monospecific genera, Gnathopeltos gen. nov. and Ofthalmopeltos gen. nov., with type species G. dixis sp. nov. and O. synkritos sp. nov., are also included in †Peltosynidae. Morphological characters evaluated with respect to their phylogenetic significance confirm that the family belongs to the suborder Polyphaga, mainly supported by the apomorphic internalized propleura. †Peltosynidae is characterized by a large transverse head, long and prominent, strongly developed mandibles, a short prosternum with a narrow, relatively short prosternal process, an interlocking mechanism between this process and a groove of the anteromedian process of the mesoventrite, striated elytra, a short metakatepisternum, transverse coxae, and a short abdomen with five ventrites. The large and transverse head is a potential autapomorphy. †Peltosynidae do not fit into any of the seven extant major polyphagan infraorders (series). The presence of a mesothoracic transverse katepisternal ridge in †Peltosyne is a plesiomorphic feature distinguishing the new family from all other groups of the suborder and suggesting its placement in the stem-group of Polyphaga. The strongly prominent mandibles and the coarse body sculpture resemble features found in extant Archostemata. It is likely that the beetles were xylophagous and adapted to subcortical habitats, arguably maintaining plesiomorphies. The polyphagan groundplan is reconstructed based on recent phylogenies and features found in †Peltosynidae and other extinct and extant groups. A scenario for the evolution of non-archostematan beetles in the late Permian and early Mesozoic is presented. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:58428459-33EF-4C1C-AD69-A066D3D33ADF

At the dawn of the great rise: †Ponomarenkia belmonthensis (Insecta: Coleoptera), a remarkable new Late Permian beetle from the Southern Hemisphere

The first complete beetle body fossil from the Australian early Late Permian fossil site Belmont is described here, †Ponomarenkia belmonthensis sp. nov., attributed to a new extinct family †Ponomarenkiidae. Shortly before a dramatic biodiversity crisis at the end of the Palaeozoic, it documents profound transitions in the evolution of Coleoptera, today by far the most species-rich group of insects and the largest order of organisms. †Ponomarenkia displays transitional states of several important characters, excluding it from the ancestral earliest stem-group coleopterans (e.g. †Tshecardocoleidae), but also from the four ‘modern’ extant suborders. In contrast to †Tshecardocoleidae, †Permocupedidae and †Rhomboleidae, it lacks the ancestral very broad and apically truncated prosternal process and a broad prothoracic postcoxal bridge, features suggesting a position in Coleoptera sensu stricto, i.e. the crown group of beetles. However, it does not share apomorphic features with extant Archostemata (e.g. narrowed neck region), Polyphaga (e.g. internalized propleura), Adephaga (e.g. elongated metacoxae with strongly developed metacoxal plates) or Myxophaga (broadly separated mesocoxae). †Ponomarenkia likely belongs in the stem group of one of the extant suborders or in the stem group of a clade comprising more than one of them. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BEC74A0C-C902-4326-8549-7F5D5E99E0C3

Whirling in the late Permian: ancestral Gyrinidae show early radiation of beetles before Permian-Triassic mass extinction

BackgroundGyrinidae are a charismatic group of highly specialized beetles, adapted for a unique lifestyle of swimming on the water surface. They prey on drowning insects and other small arthropods caught in the surface film. Studies based on morphological and molecular data suggest that gyrinids were the first branch splitting off in Adephaga, the second largest suborder of beetles. Despite its basal position within this lineage and a very peculiar morphology, earliest Gyrinidae were recorded not earlier than from the Upper Triassic.ResultsTunguskagyrus. with the single species Tunguskagyrus planus is described from Late Permian deposits of the Anakit area in Middle Siberia. The genus is assigned to the stemgroup of Gyrinidae, thus shifting back the minimum age of this taxon considerably: Tunguskagyrus demonstrates 250 million years of evolutionary stability for a very specialized lifestyle, with a number of key apomorphies characteristic for these epineuston predators and scavengers, but also with some preserved ancestral features not found in extant members of the family. It also implies that major splitting events in this suborder and in crown group Coleoptera had already occurred in the Permian. Gyrinidae and especially aquatic groups of Dytiscoidea flourished in the Mesozoic (for example Coptoclavidae and Dytiscidae) and most survive until the present day, despite the dramatic “Great Dying” – Permian-Triassic mass extinction, which took place shortly (in geological terms) after the time when Tunguskagyrus lived.ConclusionsTunguskagyrus confirms a Permian origin of Adephaga, which was recently suggested by phylogenetic “tip-dating” analysis including both fossil and Recent gyrinids. This also confirms that main splitting events leading to the “modern” lineages of beetles took place before the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Tunguskagyrus shows that Gyrinidae became adapted to swimming on the water surface long before Mesozoic invasions of the aquatic environment took place (Dytiscoidea). The Permian origin of Gyrinidae is consistent with a placement of this highly derived family as the sister group of all remaining adephagan groups, as suggested based on morphological features of larvae and adults and recent analyses of molecular data.