Vitalfranzius, Fanti & Müller, 2022

Fanti, Fabrizio & Müller, Patrick, 2022, Fossil Cantharidae from the Cretaceous Burmese (Kachin) amber of the Patrick Müller collection, and taxonomic information, Baltic Journal of Coleopterology 22 (2), pp. 331-380 : 372

Genus Vitalfranzius gen. nov.

Type species. Vitalfranzius burmiticus Fanti & P. Müller sp. nov., by present designation. The genus currently includes two species.

Etymology. Named in honor of the great friend of the first author, Francesco Vitali (Museum of Luxembourg). Derived from his entomological nickname “vitalfranz”. The gender is masculine.

Diagnosis. The maxillary palps 4­ segmented with the last palpomere securiform, the tarsal formula 5­ 5­ 5, a pronotum without modified lateral margin, tarsomeres III–IV without ventral lobes, smooth elytra, and the absence of a long neck, permits to assign this new genus belonging to the family Cantharidae and its subfamily Cantharinae . The new genus is characterized by smooth and very short elytra that leave various abdominal segments uncovered, the rounded head behind the eyes, short and robust legs, and the last abdominal segment slightly forked apically. Four other genera from Burmese amber have very short elytra: Hukawngichthyurus Fanti & Ellenberger, 2018 , Ornatomalthinus Poinar & Fanti, 2016 , Sanaungulus Fanti, Damgaard & Ellenberger, 2018 and Brevipterus

Y. Yang, H. Liu & W. Zhao ( Poinar & Fanti

2016; Fanti et al. 2018; Fanti & Ellenberger 2018; Zhao et al. 2022). The most similar is Ornatomalthinus which has a similar rounded head, but the new genus differs for the smooth elytra (with striations provided of relief points in Ornatomalthinus ), the smooth head and pronotum (wrinkled and rugose in Ornatomalthinus ), and particularly by the last abdominal segment forked (rounded in Ornatomalthinus ). Vitalfranzius gen. nov. is also similar to Brevipterus but differs for the head strongly rounded and shorter, the pronotum not subreniform, elytra completely smooth and for the antennae not pectinate.

Distribution. Currently known only from the Cretaceous Burmese (Kachin) amber.