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

Abstract

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.