Protochares brevipalpis, Fikáček & Prokin & Yan & Yue & Wang & Ren & Beattie, 2014

Fikáček, Martin, Prokin, Alexander, Yan, Evgeny, Yue, Yanli, Wang, Bo, Ren, Dong & Beattie, Robert, 2014, Modern hydrophilid clades present and widespread in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea: Hydrophilidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 170 (4), pp. 710-734 : 715

PROTOCHARES BREVIPALPIS SP. NOV.

Hydrophilidae : Beattie & Avery (2012: 7, fig. 6B)

Type locality and age: Australia, New South Wales, Talbragar Fossil Fish Bed , c. 14 km NNW of Ulan, 25 km NE of Gulgong, 32°9.9′S, 149°41.0′E; Late Jurassic (Oxfordian – Tithonian, i.e. 161–145 Mya based on SHRIMP analysis; Kimmeridgian, i.e. 155– 150 Mya based on fish fauna) (Beattie & Avery, 2012) .

Material examined: Holotype: AMF109568, piece only, complete beetle in dorsal view ( Fig. 1A, B, F ).

Description: Body widely elongate oval; for body measurements see Table 1.

Head slightly wider than long. Clypeus large, arcuate on anterolateral margins, with anteromedian portion straight or weakly concave (poorly preserved). Frontoclypeal suture present, well developed, reaching lateral margin of head closely before anterior margin of each eye. Eyes large, slightly protruding from head outline, separated by c. 3.0× the width of one eye; postocular bridge absent. Gula slightly narrowing anteriad, gular sutures widely separate from each other. Labrum large, transverse, well sclerotized, slightly concave on anterior margin, at least partly exposed in front of clypeus. Maxillary palpi rather short and stout, palpomeres 3 and 4 subequal in length.

Prothorax. Pronotum transverse, narrowing anteriad; anterolateral corners rounded, slightly projecting anteriad, lateral margins arcuate with narrow marginal rim; pronotal surface even, without furrows or depressions.

Mesothorax. Scutellar shield small, triangular. Elytron with ten slightly impressed punctural series, punctures rather small and arranged close to each other. Sutural stria present, deeply impressed. Scutellar stria present, finely punctate.

Metathorax. Metanepisternum rather wide.

Legs. Tibiae cylindrical, with several series of spines on dorsal surface. Tarsi with five tarsomeres; protarsus with long tarsomere 5 bearing short arcuate claws; metatarsomere 1 short, distinctly shorter than metatarsomere 2.

Etymology: The species name refers to the relatively short maxillary palpi.

Figures

Figure 1. Late Jurassic fossils of the Hydrophilidae. Protochares brevipalpis gen. nov., sp. nov., AMF109568, Talbragar, Australia (A, B, F); ‘Mesosperchus’ schultzi Ponomarenko, 1985, NHMW 1985/20, Solnhofen, Germany: whole specimen (C, G–H), details of the head of the piece using different lighting (D–E). Abbreviations: aes3, metanepisternum; fcs, frontoclypeal suture; gs, gular suture; mttr1, metatarsomere 1; mxp, maxillary palpus; prospr, prosternal process; scstr, scutellar stria; sstr, sutural stria.