A New Genus of Short-Winged Flower Beetles with an Enlarged Antennal Scape in Mid-Cretaceous Amber from Northern Myanmar (Coleoptera: Kateretidae)

Abstract

The fossil records of Kateretidae from the Mesozoic are significant for understanding the origin and early evolution of the family. The recent discoveries of Cretaceous kateretids have provided valuable information about the palaeodiversity and morphological disparity of the taxa. Here, we establish a new genus and species of kateretid beetles, Scaporetes rectus gen. et sp. nov., based on a specimen preserved in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber from northern Myanmar. The new species is characterized by its strongly enlarged scape and extremely small labrum. Our discovery highlights the morphological disparity of Kateretidae in the late Mesozoic.

Keywords

• Myanmar amber
• Kateretidae
• taxonomy
• fossil
• biodiversity