Prosolierius qizhihaoi sp. nov., a new species of solieriine rove beetles from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

• Published in: Journal of Asia-Pacific entomology Vol. 28; no. 2; p. 102405
• Main Authors: Liu, Nian, Gao, Lianfeng, Huang, Diying, Cai, Chenyang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2025; 한국응용곤충학회
• Subjects: Amber; Cretaceous period; entomology; extinct species; fossils; genus; Lebanon; Mesozoic; Morphology; Myanmar; new species; Palaeodiversity; phylogeny; South America; Spain; species; Staphylinidae; subfamily; 농학; Lebanon; South America; Myanmar; Spain; Myanmar; Mesozoic; Amber; Palaeodiversity; Morphology
• ISSN: 1226-8615; 1876-7790
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aspen.2025.102405

Prosolierius qizhihaoi sp. nov. from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. A, B. Prosolierius qizhihaoi, sp. nov. [Display omitted] •A new species of Prosolierius.•Antennae shorter than head through elytra, with elongate antennomere 3, slightly shorter than antennomere 11;•Maxillary palpomere 3 apically dilated (Length/Width 3.2), unlike S. obscurus (Length/Width 1.3).•Tarsi pentamerous, protarsomere 5 much longer than 1; meso– and metatasomeres 5 shorter than 1.•Metatrochanters elongate and slender, different from the oval shaped metatrochanters in Solierius obscurus. The rove beetle subfamily Solieriinae represents a small and phylogenetically distinct lineage, currently comprising only a single extant genus, Solierius Bernhauer, which is endemic to South America. The fossil record of this subfamily includes five extinct species assigned to the extinct genus Prosolierius, discovered in Barremian-Cenomanian amber deposits from Lebanon, Spain, and northern Myanmar. Here we describe a new species of Solieriinae, Prosolierius qizhihaoi sp. nov., based on an exceptionally well-preserved specimen from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. This new species exhibits close morphological similarities to Prosolierius thayerae Yamamoto, particularly in the elongation of antennomere 11 and the narrow genital segments. However, P. qizhihaoi can be distinguished by its elongate and slender antennomere 3, as well as the distinctly oval-shaped antennomere 4. The discovery of these fossil species within Prosolierius highlights the previously unrecognized palaeodiversity of Solieriinae rove beetles during the late Mesozoic, providing new insights into the evolutionary history of this enigmatic subfamily. LSID code: www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F1C95B5A-BD6D-4F84-9B03-8DD25CDFBAE2