A new genus and species of Pristocerinae (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) from upper Eocene Baltic amber with a review of conspecific association from insect fossils

A new extinct genus and species of Pristocerinae, †Archeonesia eocena Tribull, Pankowski & Colombo, gen. et. sp. nov., are described from upper Eocene Baltic amber from the Yantarny amber mine in the Kaliningrad region, Russia. Descriptions, remarks, illustrations, and comparisons to all extinct and extant Pristocerinae are provided. †Archeonesia is described as a new genus because neither the male nor the female can be placed in any previously described genera, although the female is most similar to Acrenesia and the male is most similar to Cleistepyris. Rare for Bethylidae, and Hymenoptera in general, this fossil contains both a male and female specimen that we are describing as conspecifics. A brief review from the paleoentomological literature is provided to describe how insect fossils containing evidence of reproductive behavior have been used to associate conspecifics in extinct species.

Behavioural impacts on the taphonomy of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation, Brazil

The relative completeness of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) fossils from the Crato Formation is investigated and compared to other fossil insect groups from the same formation. Tagma completeness is measured as present, partial, or absent, with some additional subdivision of body components (head, thorax, limbs, individual wings, anterior and posterior abdomen). These data are statistically explored for trends using principal coordinate analysis. While no definitive clustering is identified, most Crato Formation Odonata fossils plot positively on coordinate two, whereas the majority of non-odonatan insect fossils plot negatively on this coordinate. This shows that the Crato Formation odonates are less complete compared to other insect groups from the same beds. Specimens preserved as isolated wings and those preserved with damaged or lost abdomens are identified as contributing to this difference. The causes of these differences are discussed, highlighting collection bias, predation, carcass scavenging, physical conditions of the palaeoenvironment, as well as the autecology of odonates.

The Triassic insects of Denmark Hill, Ipswich, Southeast Queensland: the creation, use and dispersal of a collection

Type and additional fossil insects from the Late Triassic Denmark Hill locality in Southeast Queensland, Australia, are held in the collections of the Queensland Museum (Brisbane), the Australian Museum (Sydney) and the Natural History Museum of the United Kingdom (London). The history of these collections shows that they were the product of a concerted effort in the first two decades of the twentieth century to extract the fossils by Benjamin Dunstan, Queensland’s Chief Government Geologist, and to describe the fossils by Dunstan and Robin Tillyard, the foremost Australian entomologist of the time. They collaborated closely to document the late Triassic insects of Australia, at the same time as Dunstan carefully curated and organised both the official government collection of these insects for the Geological Survey of Queensland, and his own private collection. The death of the two men in the 1930s led to the sale by his widow of Dunstan’s private fossil collection (including type and type counterpart specimens) to the British Museum, and the donation of Tillyard’s by his widow to the same institution, in addition to some material that went to the Australian Museum. This paper documents the locations of all of the published specimens. The history of the Denmark Hill fossils (a site no longer accessible for collection) highlights the problems for researchers of the dispersal of holdings such as these, and in particular the separation of the part and counterpart of the same insect fossils. It also raises ethical questions arising from the ownership and disposal of private holdings of important fossil material collected in an official capacity.

Fossil Genera in Elateridae (Insecta, Coleoptera): A Triassic Origin and Jurassic Diversification

Insect fossils bear important information about the evolutionary history of the group. The fossil record of Elateridae, a large cosmopolitan beetle family, has been greatly understudied and the available data are often replete with ambiguity and uncertainty. The research of Elateridae evolution cannot be done without solid genus-group name concepts. In this study we provide an updated comprehensive summary of the fossil genera in Elateridae, including their systematic placement and information on the type species, gender, number of species, age range, and relevant bibliography. We list seven valid fossil genera in Agrypninae, one in Cardiophorinae, two in Dendrometrinae, five in Elaterinae, two in Negastriinae, one in Omalisinae, one in Pityobiinae, and 36 in Protagrypninae. Additional 19 genera are tentatively classified as Elateridae incertae sedis, and their placements are discussed. Further, we move genera Babuskaya Martins-Neto & Gallego, 2009, Cardiosyne Martins-Neto & Gallego, 2006, Fengningia Hong, 1984 and Gemelina Martins-Neto & Gallego, 2006 from Elateridae to Coleoptera incertae sedis. We also discuss the genera previously placed in Elateridae, which are currently not included in the family. The data on the fossil generic diversity suggest that Elateridae originated in the Triassic and rapidly diversified and became comparatively abundant through the Jurassic. We call for further research on the fossil Elateridae from various deposits in order to increase our knowledge on the origin, evolution, and palaeodiversity of the group.

Two fossil thrips from Ethiopian amber (Thysanoptera) with description of Merothrips aithiopicus sp. n. (Thysanoptera: Merothripidae)

Amber has rarely been found in Africa and only a few samples with fossil inclusions are known (Kiefert et al. 2015). The most important fossiliferous find was reported from an outcrop at the north-western Plateau of Ethiopia a decade ago, revealing diverse inclusions of arthropods, plant remains, fungi and microorganisms (Schmidt et al. 2010). Initially, this amber was classified as originating from the mid-Cretaceous. Later studies, however, have raised questions about this determination and indicated a much younger age: Cenozoic, likely Miocene (Coty et al. 2016, Perrichot et al. 2016, Perrichot et al. 2018). The contradictory—and rather controversial discussed—new dating was based on spectroscopic analyses, revised palynological data and more comprehensive palaeoentomological results showing that insect fossils mostly belong to extant families and genera. In total, Schmidt et al. (2010) reported 22 insects from eight identified orders including two specimens of Thysanoptera: “an undetermined, wingless thrips“ (obviously a larva) and a female associated with Merothripidae. A more detailed analysis of these specimens is the objective of the present study; regarding the larva, only a rough classification and description is given, as fossil larvae cannot be definitely associated with adult specimens.

Professor Qi-Bin Lin and palaeoentomology of China

Professor Qi-Bin Lin (Figs 1, 2) was born on February 15th, 1935 (same birthday as the first author, Di-Ying Huang) in Putian, Fujian Province, southeastern China. He graduated from the Department of Biology of Nanjing University in 1959 and has been working at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) since then. In his early career, he did research on Permian brachiopods with Prof. Yu Wang. Although there were sporadic studies on insect fossils in China before China’s Liberation, palaeoentomology was still a blank in China at that time and there was a lack of professional researchers. That was the reason why the institute’s leader assigned him to research on insect fossils. Lin went to the Beijing Institute of Entomology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (later merged into the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) in 1961 to study entomology for one year. He studied under the supervision of the famous entomologist, Prof. Juan-Jie Tan, who was not only an excellent coleopterist, but also one of the pioneers in palaeoentomology of China.

Mesozoic sooty mould beetles as living relicts in New Zealand

New Zealand is an island continent that completed its split from the Gondwanan continent at 52 Ma, harbouring an iconic biota of tuatara, kiwi and weta. The sooty mould community is a distinctive trophic element of New Zealand forest ecosystems that is driven by plant-feeding sternorrhynchan Hemiptera. These produce honeydew, which supports fungal growth, which in turn supports numerous endemic invertebrates, including endemic New Zealand beetle families. Ancient New Zealand insect fossils are rare but a single fossil of a sooty mould cyclaxyrid was recently described from Cretaceous Burmese amber, a family that was previously known from two extant New Zealand species. Well-preserved fossils like this one are recasting Earth history, and, based on a wealth of additional specimens, we re-evaluate the taxonomy of Cretaceous cyclaxyrids and one Eocene species here transferred to Cyclaxyridae. Cyclaxyridae are highly tied to the sooty mould community and have now been discovered to occur in disparate biogeographic realms in deep time. Our discovery indicates that the family, and perhaps the sooty mould community in general, was widespread in Pangaea from at least the Cretaceous and survived as a relict in New Zealand. Persistence of a sooty mould ecosystem in New Zealand and fungal specialization may not necessarily be an evolutionary ‘dead-end’ for cyclaxyrids and other insects.

A new Early Jurassic insect outcrop in Xinjiang, northwestern China and its stratigraphic significance

Mesozoic insect fossils are abundant in Xinjiang, northwestern China, mainly from the Triassic and Jurassic strata. The first Xinjiang insect fossils found were from the Meiyaogou section, north of Turpan City (Ping, 1935). Ping (1935) did not provide a detailed introduction to the specific stratum due to a limited stratigraphic survey of this area at that time, but it was considered to belong to the Upper Jurassic. The Upper Jurassic strata in the Meiyaogou section were represented mainly by the Sanjianfang Formation, which is characterized by gray-yellow-green sandstone-siltstones with purple-red sandstone strips. However, whether these fossils reported by Ping (1935) were from the Sanjianfang Formation is still uncertain. These insect fossils are known from just two orders: Dermaptera and Plecoptera. The mayfly species Ephemeropsis tingi (Demoulin, 1954; Edmunds, 1972; Kluge, 2004) was thought to be significantly different from Ephemeropsis trisetalis from the Jehol biota. Another species, Sinoephemera kingi, is more similar to a stonefly nymph. Mesonetopsis zeni, a taxon thought to be relate to the common component of the Late Jurassic in Central Asia (Mesoneta), is in fact an odonatan nymph (Demoulin, 1954).