Sucinorhagonycha carsteni fANTI, 2023

Fanti, Fabrizio, 2023, A New Fossil Sucinorhagonycha (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) From Baltic Amber With Visible Female Gonostyli, Fossil Imprint 79 (2), pp. 152-155 : 152-154

Sucinorhagonycha carsteni fANTI sp. nov.

Text-fig. 1

H o l o t y p e. Female, inclusion in Baltic amber, housed at the GPIH ( Germany) with the identification number GPIH no. 5090, CCGG no. 8696 (ex Jonas Damzen Collection JDC12143), Text-fig. 1.

E t y m o l o g y. Species named in honor of Carsten

Gröhn, a well-known German amber collector.

T y p e l o c a l i t y. Amber mine near Yantarny settlement, Sambian Peninsula, Kaliningrad region, Russia .

T y p e h o r i z o n. Sediments containing Baltic amber.

A g e. Middle Eocene (Lutetian) (47.8–41.2 Ma) to late

Eocene (Priabonian) (37.8–33.9 Ma).

D i a g n o s i s. Soft bodied soldier beetle with prognathous head, last maxillary palpomere securiform, 12-segmented antennae that are filiform without modified antennomeres and without rami, pronotum elongated without lobes on the sides, long smooth elytra without costae, tarsal formula 5-5-5, and simple claws without lobes or denticles.

C o m p a r i s o n. Sucinorhagonycha maryae M.G. PANKOWSKI et FANTI, 2023 has a flat and transverse pronotum ( Pankowski and Fanti 2023); the pronotum of S. samsockorum FANTI et M.K. PANKOWSKI, 2018 has a clearly raised area in the center ( Fanti and Pankowski 2018); S. groehni KAZANTSEV, 2020 has a pronotum with somewhat produced anterior margin and prominent posterior bulges ( Kazantsev 2020); and in S. kulickae KUŚKA, 1996 the pronotum has a conspicuous central linear depression extending from anterior to posterior margin and distinct protuberances on both sides ( Kuśka 1996, Kubisz 2000). S. fabrizioi M.G. PANKOWSKI, 2023 presents a pronotum with a clearly bulged area near the middle (Pankowski 2023). The new species S. carsteni is therefore well differentiated because it does not have any of these combinations of characters.

D e s c r i p t i o n. Adult, winged, elongated. Female, defined on the basis of its rounded last sternite and visible ovipositor (gonostyli). Body length 5.7 mm: abdomen (elytra) 3.9 mm; thorax 1.1 mm; head 0.7 mm. Antenna 3.4 mm. Body entirely dark brown.

Head slightly elongated, prognathous, not completely exposed, transverse, with shallow punctation and short setae. Eyes rounded, small, convex, inserted in the lateral part of the head. Mandibles robust, elongated, falciform. Maxillary palps 4-segmented and segments unequal in length; last palpomere securiform, elongated, rounded apically. Labial palps 3-segmented; last palpomere elongated, securiform. Antennae 12-segmented, filiform, inserted dorsally and between eyes, relatively short, extending beyond half of the elytra, all segments pubescent; antennomere I (scape) robust, elongated, slightly club-shaped; antennomere II robust, short; antennomere III robust, sturdier and about 1.4 times longer than the second; antennomere IV slightly thinner and slightly longer than antennomere III; antennomeres V–X subequal, slightly shorter than previous one, enlarged at external margin; antennomere XI elongated-rounded; antennomere XII elongated, rounded at apex. Pronotum longer than wide, very slightly wider than the head, corners rounded, posterior margin almost straight and with prominent border, anterior margin rounded and with delicate border, surface rather flat and with very small bulged areas in the posterior part, and with a transverse depression following the bulged areas and reaching the posterior margin, surface with punctation and strongly pubescent. Scutellar shield triangular-shaped, wide basally with rounded apex. Elytra very elongated, slender, parallel-sided, completely covering the last abdominal segments, wider than pronotum, apex rounded, surface equipped with long setae and slightly wrinkled. Posterior wings completely covered by elytra. Metasternum elongated, posteriorly slightly rounded; sternites and tergites wide, narrow, slightly punctate, pubescent; last sternite wide, narrow and strongly transverse, with apical margin undulate, equipped with two short central lobes, very robust and obtuse apically; ovipositor with two visible very thin, long and well-developed gonostyli. Legs short, massive, strongly pubescent; coxae massive; trochanters elongated; femora cylindrical, enlarged and slightly curved; tibiae shorter than femora, cylindrical, thin. Tarsi 5-segmented and with setae; first tarsomere elongated and very robust, about 2.0 times longer than second; second tarsomere short and robust; third tarsomere shorter than second; fourth tarsomere strongly bilobed at sides with the lobes very long and obtuse apically; fifth tarsomere very elongated, thin, strongly curved; claws simple, long, curved, and without lobes or denticles. Male unknown.

R e m a r k s. The yellow amber piece measures approximately 41 × 20 × 8 mm. The inclusion is complete and clearly visible. It has white emulsion only on the ventral side.

S y n i n c l u s i o n s. Air bubbles, plant remains, stellate hairs, Trichoneura sp. ( Diptera Limoniidae ).

Figures

Text-fig. 1. Sucinorhagonycha carsteni FANTI sp. nov., Baltic amber, holotype (GPIH no. 5090, CCGG no. 8696). a: Dorsal view, scale bar 1.0 mm. b: Ventral view, scale bar 1.0 mm. c: Detail of antennae, scale bar 0.5 mm. d: Detail of last sternites with gonostyli, scale bar 0.3 mm (© Jonas & Aleksej Damzen).