The oldest silken fungus beetle from the Early Cretaceous of southern China (Coleoptera: Cryptophagidae: Atomariinae)

Abstract

Cai, C.-y. & Wang, B., 2013. The oldest silken fungus beetle from the Early Cretaceous of southern China (Coleoptera: Cryptophagidae: Atomariinae). Alcheringa 37, 1–4. ISSN 0311-5518

Atomaria cretacea sp. nov., a new silken fungus beetle, is described and figured based on an impression fossil from the Lower Cretaceous Shixi Formation at a locality near Qingxi Town, Jiangxi Province, southern China. The new species can be referred to the extant family Cryptophagidae as supported by the tiny body size, the clubbed antenna with dilated antennomere 1, closely spaced antennal insertions, and abdominal ventrite 1 being longer than the remaining ventrites. It is placed in the extant subfamily Atomariinae based on the presence of a frontoclypeal suture and the absence of gular sutures; and tentatively in Atomaria based on its body size, sub-parallel body shape, and the presence of a frontoclypeal suture.

Chen-Yang Cai [[email protected]], Bo Wang [[email protected]], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy; Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China. Received 11.11.2012; revised 26.1.2013; accepted 31.1.2013.

中国南部早白垩世最老的丝菌甲虫 (Coleoptera: Cryptophagidae: Atomariinae)

根据下白垩统Shixi组中的印痕化石, 我们描述并图示了一个丝菌甲虫新种Atomaria cretaceasp. nov.。 化石地点是中国南部江西省Qingxi 城. 新种可以被归为现生科Cryptophagidae, 其证据是个体小, 带有扩张触角节1的杵状触角, 触角内嵌的间距小, 腹节1比其余的长. 根据前盾缝合线的存在和颈部缝合线的缺失, 我们将它置于现生亚科Atomariinae; 根据其个体大小、近平行的身体形状和前盾缝合线的存在, 将它归为Atomaria.

Key words:

• Fossil insects
• Cryptophagidae
• Atomaria
• Early Cretaceous
• southern China

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for providing useful criticism and constructive suggestions. This research was supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-QN104), Outstanding Youth Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK2012049), National Basic Research Program of China (2012CB821903) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41002006, 91114201 and J1210006).