A sphere-forming scarab beetle (Ceratocanthinae: Hybosoridae) in Dominican amber

Abstract

The ability of beetles to form defensive spheres is a rare trait and confined to representatives in the families Clambidae, Leiodidae and Hybosoridae. However, the most compact spheres are formed by members of the Neotropical genus Ceratocanthus (Ceratocanthinae: Hybosoridae). A representative in Dominican amber described as Ceratocanthus emarginatus sp.n. differs from all known members of the genus by its unique notched clypeus. Additional specimens of at least two other species suggest that these sphere-forming beetles were fairly diverse in the Dominican amber forest.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4329D0DA-57BD-4CEA-9464-ABD5D1577FC9

Keywords::

• sphere-forming
• ceratocanthinae
• Dominican amber

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Alex Brown for contributing specimens of this group for examination and Roberta Poinar and Art Boucot for comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.