Fossil history of bark-beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) with descriptions of two new species

ABSTRACT

The presence of fossil bark beetles from the early Cretaceous to the Miocene is discussed. Changes in the diversity of this group over time are presented. Assumptions about trophic relationships are given. Two new species, Hylastes perkovskyi n. sp. from the tribe Hylastini and Chramesus boninoi n. sp. from the tribe Hylesinini, are described, respectively, from Eocene Rovno and Miocene Dominica amber. These are the first records of the genera Hylastes in Rovno amber and Chramesus in Dominican amber.

KEYWORDS:

• Curculionoidea
• Scolytinae
• Hylesininae
• new species
• species diversity
• trophic links
• fossil records

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Mr. E. Bonino (Liège, Belgium), Mr. J. Damzen (Vilnius, Lithuania), Dr. A.G. Ponomarenko and Prof. A.P. Rasnitsyn (Moscow, Russia) for helping in this study, Dr. G.O. Poinar, Jr. (USA: Corvallis) for improving the manuscript, and anonymous reviewers for improving the overall quality of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.