ArticlePDF Available

Groehnaltica batophiloides, a new genus and species of flea-beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from Baltic amber, described using X-ray microtomography

Authors:
Andris Bukejs at Daugavpils University
Andris Bukejs
Chris Reid at Australian Museum
Chris Reid
Maurizio Biondi at Università degli Studi dell'Aquila
Maurizio Biondi
Download full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract

Based on a well-preserved specimen from Eocene Baltic amber, Groehnaltica batophiloides gen. nov. and sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini) is described and illustrated using X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT). The new monotypic genus is compared with fossil and extant flea-beetle genera. In the extant Eurasian fauna Groehnaltica shows most similarity to Batophila Foudras, 1859. However, it is also similiar to a Palaeotropical group of genera, including Bikasha Maulik, 1931, and Lanka Maulik, 1926. Groehnaltica batophiloides is the tenth member of Alticini to be described from Baltic amber, adding to our understanding of the evolutionary history of this diverse group of beetles.
Content uploaded by Andris Bukejs
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Andris Bukejs on Oct 13, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
ZOOTAXA
ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition)
ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition)
Accepted by R. Anderson: 27 Aug. 2020; published: 7 Oct. 2020 397
Zootaxa 4859 (3): 397–408
https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/
Copyright © 2020 Magnolia Press Article
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4859.3.5
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EF8FC300-04F9-4E59-A4B6-ECFE1C240F99
Groehnaltica batophiloides, a new genus and species of flea-beetles (Coleoptera:
Chrysomelidae) from Baltic amber, described using X-ray microtomography
ANDRIS BUKEJS1, CHRIS A. M. REID2 & MAURIZIO BIONDI3
1Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies, Daugavpils University, Vienîbas Str. 13, Daugavpils, Latvia.
�
carabidae@inbox.lv; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1899-9839
2Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum,1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.
�
chris.reid@austmus.gov.au; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7165-3023
3Department of Health, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 Coppito-L’Aquila, Italy.
�
maurizio.biondi@univaq.it; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2190-7376
Abstract
Based on a well-preserved specimen from Eocene Baltic amber, Groehnaltica batophiloides gen. nov. and sp. nov.
(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini) is described and illustrated using X-ray micro-computed tomography
(μCT). The new monotypic genus is compared with fossil and extant flea-beetle genera. In the extant Eurasian fauna
Groehnaltica shows most similarity to Batophila Foudras, 1859. However, it is also similiar to a Palaeotropical group of
genera, including Bikasha Maulik, 1931, and Lanka Maulik, 1926. Groehnaltica batophiloides is the tenth member of
Alticini to be described from Baltic amber, adding to our understanding of the evolutionary history of this diverse group
of beetles.
Key words: paleontology, Alticini, Galerucinae, fossil, insect, Eocene, X-ray micro-CT
Introduction
The Alticini are a tribe of leaf beetles (Coleoptera Chrysomelidae) included within the subfamily Galerucinae, along
with the closely related Galerucini (Bouchard et al. 2011). They comprise at least 540 genera and 8000 living spe-
cies (Nadein 2012; Nadein & Bezděk 2014; Biondi et al. 2019), occurring all over the world. The tribe is commonly
defined by the presence of a metafemoral hopping organ, but this has independently evolved several times within
the Galerucinae (Ge et al. 2011). However, the vast majority of alticine genera, including the type genus Altica,
belong to a monophylum (Ge et al. 2011; Nie et al. 2018), which is the Alticini used here. Some genera are wide-
spread in more than one zoogeographical region (for example Altica Geoffroy, 1762, Aphthona Chevrolat, 1836,
Chaetocnema Stephens, 1831, Longitarsus Latreille, 1829, Psylliodes Latreille, 1825), while others are endemic to
very limited areas (Biondi & D’Alessandro 2017). Alticini generally exhibit small-to-medium body sizes and are
commonly called ‘flea beetles’, because of the presence of a metafemoral extensor tendon that enables them to jump
(Nadein & Betz 2016). Their adult and larval stages feed mainly on stems, leaves, or roots, and rarely on flowers:
this feeding takes place across almost all the higher plant families, generally with high levels of specialization (Jo-
livet & Verma 2002; Biondi et al. 2015; Urbani et al. 2015; Biondi & D’Alessandro 2017, 2018; Reid 2017).
The family Chrysomelidae is diverse and rather abundant in Eocene Baltic amber and is represented by seven
subfamilies. Despite the long history of inclusion study, a quite modest fossil leaf-beetle assemblage has been
described from the Baltic amber forest. Until now, 28 species belonging to 21 genera have been reported from
this Lagerstätte: Bruchinae (1 species), Criocerinae (1), Cassidinae (5), Galerucinae (11), Lamprosomatinae (4),
Cryptocephalinae (1), and Eumolpinae (5) (Schaufuss 1891; Quiel 1909; Uhmann 1939; Bukejs & Konstantinov
2013; Bukejs & Nadein 2013, 2014, 2015; Moseyko & Kirejtshuk 2013; Biondi 2014; Bukejs 2014, 2019; Bukejs
& Bezděk 2014; Bukejs & Chamorro 2015; Bukejs & Moseyko 2015; Bukejs et al. 2015; Legalov 2016; Bukejs &
Schmitt 2016; Nadein et al. 2015). Three species described from “Danish” amber: Calomicroides danicus Nadein,
... Fossil records of Galerucinae from amber are scarce. Until now, 23 species have been described (Bukejs & Nadein 2013, 2014Bukejs 2014;Bukejs et al. 2015Bukejs et al. , 2016Bukejs et al. , 2020bNadein & Perkovsky 2018, 2019 (Klebs 1910;Bachofen-Echt 1949;Spahr 1981). ...
The first extinct species of Monolepta Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) from Bitterfeld amber, described using X-ray micro-computed tomography
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2021
Based on a well preserved female specimen from Bitterfeld amber, Monolepta rappsilberi sp. nov. is described and illustrated using X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT). It is the second reported member of Chrysomelidae from this fossil resin and the first described fossil Monolepta representative. The fossil species represents a lineage that is extinct in Recent Europe. A longitudinal carina on abdominal ventrite 5 of the female is a unique character for the subfamily Galerucinae.
View
The First Reconstruction of the Head Anatomy of a Cretaceous Insect, † Gerontoformica gracilis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and the Early Evolution of Ants
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2022
The fossil record allows a unique glimpse into the evolutionary history of organisms living on Earth today. We discovered a specimen of the stem group ant †Gerontoformica gracilis (Barden and Grimaldi, 2014) in Kachin amber with near-complete preservation of internal head structures, which we document employing μ-computed-tomography-based 3D reconstructions. We compare †Gerontoformica to four outgroup taxa and four extant ant species, employing parsimony and Bayesian ancestral state reconstruction to identify morphological differences and similarities between stem and crown ants and thus improve our understanding of ant evolution through the lens of head anatomy. Of 149 morphological characters, 87 are new in this study, and almost all applicable to the fossil. †Gerontoformica gracilis shares shortened dorsal tentorial arms, basally angled pedicels, and the pharyngeal gland as apomorphies with other total clade Formicidae. Retained plesiomorphies include mandible shape and features of the prepharynx. Implications of the reconstructed transitions especially for the ant groundplan are critically discussed based on our restricted taxon sampling, emphasizing the crucial information derived from internal anatomy which is applied to deep time for the first time. Based on the falcate mandible in †Gerontoformica and other Aculeata, we present hypotheses for how the shovel-shaped mandibles in crown Formicidae could have evolved. Our results support the notion of †Gerontoformica as ‘generalized’ above-ground predator missing crucial novelties of crown ants which may have helped the latter survive the end-Cretaceous extinction. Our study is an important step for anatomical research on Cretaceous insects and a glimpse into the early evolution of ant heads.
View
Eocenocolaspis gen. nov., a new genus of Eumolpinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from Baltic amber preserving metallic sheen from the Eocene epoch
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2022
A new genus and species of Eumolpinae, Eocenocolaspis aurichalceus gen. et sp. nov, is described and figured from the Eocene Baltic amber. This fossil taxon belongs to the group of Colaspis-like genera, and it is compared with related extant South American and Australian eumolpines. The studied inclusion possesses iridescent metallic colouration, resulting from the interference effect of almost completely preserved multilayered microstructure within the cuticle. The issues surrounding such natural colouration of insect inclusions in amber and its preservation are briefly discussed. Consequently, a diurnal mode of life is suggested for the newly described fossil beetle.
View
A second fossil species of the enigmatic rove beetle genus Charhyphus in Eocene Baltic amber, with implications on the morphology of the female genitalia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Phloeocharinae)
Article
  • Dec 2021
Phloeocharinae is a small and likely non-monophyletic subfamily of rove beetles. The enigmatic genus Charhyphus Sharp, 1887 has long been placed in Phloeocharinae, whereas recent studies have found it to be phylogenetically very distant from the core members of this subfamily, suggesting the possibility that it actually deserves its own separate subfamily status. So far, the sole definitive fossil record for Charhyphus is known based on a single male from Eocene Baltic amber as represented by † Charhyphus balticus Shavrin, 2020. Here, we describe and illustrate another new Charhyphus species, † Charhyphus serratus sp. nov. Yamamoto & Shavrin, from Baltic amber based on a well-preserved female fossil. Considering the general proportions of the body and the head, this new species is most similar to † C . balticus . The new species differs from all known species by the development of strong serration of the lateral edges of the pronotum and features of the shape of the apical margin of the mesoventrite. By using X-ray micro-computed tomography, we succeeded in visualising not only the general habitus but also each individual body part, recovering a previously undocumented sclerite on the female internal genital segments in the genus. Morphological features of extinct and extant species of Charhyphus are briefly discussed. Figures of all extant Charhyphus species and a key for the genus are also provided. Our study is important for considering possible higher palaeodiversity, more common occurrence, and palaeobiogeography of Charhyphus .
View
First record of orsodacnid leaf beetle (Coleoptera: Orsodacnidae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil
Article
  • May 2021
A new orsodacnid leaf beetle, Aulacoscelis (Cretaulacoscelis) santanensis n. subgen. et n. sp. of the subfamily Aulacoscelidinae of the family Orsodacnidae, is described from the Aptian-Albian Santana Formation of the Lower Cretaceous. The new subgenus differs from the subgenus Aulacoscelis s. str. in the elytra having distinct striae, the large eyes and a narrow-triangular scutellum. This is the first record of a fossil Orsodacnidae and the first Chrysomeloidea described from the Santana Formation.
View
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.