A new fossil species of stag beetle from Dominican Republic amber, with Australasian connections (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

Authors

Robert E. Woodruff, Florida State Collection of ArthropodsFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

9-25-2009

Comments

Published in Insecta Mundi 0098: 1-10. Published in 2009 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P. O. Box 141874 Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 U. S. A. http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/

Abstract

The first New World amber member of the family Lucanidae is described from the Dominican Republic. Its age is presumed to be Miocene (20-30 million YBP). It is also the fourth known amber species, the second Miocene fossil species, the second fossil species in the subfamily Syndesinae, and the first species (fossil or extant) of Lucanidae from the entire Caribbean. It is especially interesting because it is a member of the Australasian genus Syndesus MacLeay. Other such disjunct Dominican amber insect fossils are also discussed.