Holcoptera solitensis Thomson et al., 2017

Criscione-Vastano, Julia & Grimaldi, David A., 2024, Remarkable Diversity Of Beetles (Coleoptera) In The Late Triassic (Norian) “ Solite Deposit ” Of Virginia And North Carolina, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2024 (467), pp. 1-141 : 23-24

Holcoptera solitensis Thomson et al., 2017

Figures 37A–C , 38

DESCRIPTION: Small beetle (4.7 mm long as preserved, 2.8 mm wide) preserved in dorsal view; preservation fair; no counterpart. Peculiar specimen with body margins poorly defined, head missing. Elytra and some underlying structures preserved. Anterior portion of specimen with two symmetrical, raised circular structures laterally. Elytra with distinctive color pattern consisting of four longitudinal bands: two outer bands connecting posteriorly to form U-shape, innermost band thinner than others and extending to a color patch along the anterior margin where the orientation becomes perpendicular to the other bands. Outer elytral margins not preserved. Abdominal segments visible beneath elytra, four subequal tergites discernible; additional faint bands laterally, possibly outer margins of abdomen.

MATERIAL: Illustration and description based on VMNH 97986. Twenty-five additional specimens are known: AMNH 04-96, VMNH 49735/49736, 51498, 51511, 51839, 54135, 54136, 96728, 96729, 96731, 96736, 96762, 96765, 96766, 96768, 96769, 96782, 96784, 96787, 96789, 96791, 97234, 97243, 97247, and 97251.

COMMENTS: There are 26 known specimens in the Solite material sharing this distinctive elytral pattern. Seven of these consist of more than a single elytron, and one specimen (VMNH 96762, fig. 37C) includes the head, though it is not attached to the body. The illustrated specimen (VMNH 97986) appears shorter than the others and is possibly longitudinally distorted. Additionally, one specimen (AMNH 04-96, fig. 38) differs in the thickness of the second innermost longitudinal band and might represent a separate species.

This morphotype was previously described as Holcoptera solitensis by Thomson et al. (2017) based on two isolated elytra. It should be noted that the original description states that H. solitensis specimens “are the only ones seen where none of the [elytral color] bands connect, either to a color patch at the base or distally” ( Thomson et al., 2017: 671). The two outer bands of the Solite specimens do, in fact, connect distally, contradicting the species’ original description.

Figures

FIG. 37. Holcoptera solitensis. A, B. VMNH 97986. C. VMNH 96762 with partial head. Scale bars: 1 mm.

FIG. 38. Holcoptera sp., AMNH 04-96. Note width of second innermost longitudinal bands compared to those of VMNH 97986 and 96762 (fig. 37). Specimen possibly belonging to a separate holcopteran species. Scale bar: 1 mm.