Scarabaeidae, Latreille, 1802

Krell, Frank- Thorsten, 2006, Fossil Record And Evolution Of Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera: Polyphaga), The Coleopterists Bulletin (mo 5) 60, pp. 120-143 : 127

Scarabaeidae : CRETOSCARABAEINAE Nikolajev 1995 b (L Cretaceous)

Diagnosis: Mandibles and labrum exposed; antennal club with more than three segments; outer margin of protibia with three denticles; mesocoxae contiguous ( Cretoscarabaeus Nikolajev ) or narrowly separated ( Cretorabaeus Nikolajev ); meso- and metatibiae with transverse keels and with apical spurs located at one side of tarsus. Remarks: The documentation of the fossils only as line drawings does not allow Nikolajev’s interpretations to be reassessed, e.g., the number of articles of the clavus which is not identifiable, and antennae are only present in Cretoscarabaeus . All character states apart from three protibial denticles are considered plesiomorphic for the Scarabaeoidea by Nikolajev himself. Three protibial denticles, however, also are present in other Scarabaeoidea such as Glaresidae , Hybosoridae , Ceratocanthidae , Ochodaeidae , and several subfamilies of Scarabaeidae . Since Nikolajev uses the family rank Scarabaeidae for Scarabaeoidea sensu Crowson (1981) , Cretoscarabaeinae should be upgraded to family level to adjust the author’s intention to the current system. However, because of the possible paraphyly of this group I refrain from upgrading, since the family level is subjectively more important owing to wider usage.