Notes on the Morphology and Systematic Position of <i>Archaeolus</i> Lin, 1986, from the Jurassic of South China (Coleoptera: Elateroidea)
Yan-Da Li,
Robin Kundrata,
Di-Ying Huang,
Chen-Yang Cai
Affiliations
Yan-Da Li
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Robin Kundrata
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Di-Ying Huang
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Chen-Yang Cai
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
The morphology of the Jurassic fossil Archaeolus funestus Lin, 1986, which was previously placed in the extinct click-beetle subfamily Protagrypninae (Coleoptera: Elateridae), is revised based on a re-examination of the type specimen. The validity of Protagrypninae is discussed and further questioned, partly based on the newly observed characters in A. funestus, including the surface sculpture of the mesoventrite. A possible Throscidae affinity of monotypic Archaeolus Lin, 1986, as suggested in a recent study, is further critically reviewed.
