The first described fossil Oedemeridae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from Baltic amber

• Published in: Journal of paleontology Vol. 96; no. 2; pp. 375 - 378
• Main Authors: Szawaryn, Karol, Sontag, Elżbieta, Kubisz, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA The Paleontological Society 01.03.2022; Cambridge University Press; Cambridge University Press for the Paleontological Society
• Subjects: Abdomen; amber; Arthropoda; Baltic amber; Bartonian; Cenozoic; Coleoptera; Commonwealth of Independent States; Congeners; Cretaceous; Endopterygota; Eocene; Europe; exoskeletons; Fossils; Habitus; Insecta; invertebrate; Kaliningrad Russian Federation; Mandibulata; middle Eocene; morphology; Neoptera; New species; new taxa; Oedemera girulskii; Oedemeridae; organic minerals; Paleogene; Paleontology; Pterygota; REGULAR ARTICLES; Russian Federation; Sambian Peninsula; taxonomy; Tertiary; Yantarny Russian Federation; Russia
• ISSN: 0022-3360; 1937-2337
• DOI: 10.1017/jpa.2021.102

Molecular dating estimates the appearance of the family Oedemeridae in the Early Cretaceous. Several fossil representatives are known from Spanish (105 Ma) and Myanmar (99 Ma) ambers. The family also has been mentioned by several authors to occur in Eocene Baltic amber, but virtually no species was described until now. Here, we provide a description of the first fossil oedemerid species from Eocene Baltic amber, which is classified within subfamily Oedemerinae, in the extant genus Oedemera Olivier as Oedemera (s. str.) girulskii n. sp. The presence of appendiculate pretarsal claws and relatively large eyes separate the new species from its extant congeners. UUID: http://zoobank.org/24b0b919-8684-4908-b002-9521b071dcc8.