Two new genera and species of tiger beetles from Baltic amber (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae)

Authors

Jürgen Wiesner, Wolfsburg, GermanyFollow
Kipling Will, University of California - BerkeleyFollow
Joachim Schmidt, University of RostockFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

9-29-2017

Citation

Insecta Mundi 0577: 1–14.

Comments

Published in 2017 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P. O. Box 141874 Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 USA http://centerforsystematicentomology.org/

Copyright held by the author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License.

Abstract

Two fossil tiger beetle species (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cicindelinae) are described from Eocene Baltic amber using light microscopic and X-ray microscopic techniques. Both species are considered representatives of the subtribe Iresina Rivalier, 1971 due to the shared combination of character states: glabrous head, six labral and four suborbital setae, and glabrous pronotum. Palaeopronyssiformia groehni Wiesner, Will, and Schmidt, new genus, new species, is characterized by a glabrous and furrowed head with six labral setae, large eyes, presence of two supraorbital setae on each side, mandibles with two teeth of the incisor region, and a glabrous and furrowed pronotum. Palaeoiresina cassolai Wiesner, Will, and Schmidt, new genus, new species, is characterized by a unicolored, undentated labrum, mandibles with two teeth of the incisor region, glabrous head with six labral setae, two clypeal setae, two supraorbital setae on each side, and a glabrous pronotum, mesepisternum, mesepimeron, and metepisternum. The species described here represent the only known tiger beetle fossils preserved in Baltic amber.