Biology (Sep 2021)

The First <i>Ptilodactyla</i> Illiger, 1807 (Coleoptera: Dryopoidea: Ptilodactylidae) Described from Eocene Baltic Amber

  • Robin Kundrata,
  • Gabriela Packova,
  • Kristaps Kairišs,
  • Andris Bukejs,
  • Johana Hoffmannova,
  • Stephan M. Blank

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10090877
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 9
p. 877

Abstract

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The beetle family Ptilodactylidae contains more than 500 extant species; however, its fossil record is scarce and remains understudied. In this study, we describe a new species of Ptilodactylidae, Ptilodactyla eocenica Kundrata, Bukejs and Blank, sp. nov., based on a relatively well-preserved specimen from Baltic amber. We use X-ray microcomputed tomography to reconstruct its morphology since some of the principal diagnostic characters have been obscured by opaque bubbles. It is the third ptilodactylid species described from Baltic amber, and the first one belonging to the subfamily Ptilodactylinae. Additionally, we summarize the classification, diversity, and distribution of both extinct and extant Ptilodactylidae.

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