A slender new archaic beetle in Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Archostemata)

Jarzembowski, Edmund A., Wang, B. &; Zheng, D., October 2017. A slender new archaic beetle in Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Archostemata). Alcheringa 42, 110–114. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new archostematan beetle, Clessidromma palmeri gen. et sp. nov. (Insecta: Coleoptera) is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber from northern Myanmar. It has a uniquely specialized body form for which a new stem tribe, Clessidromatini trib. nov., is proposed in the subfamily Ommatinae of the family Cupedidae sensu lato.

Edmund Jarzembowski* [jarzembowski2@live.co.uk] Bo Wang? [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn] and Daran Zheng? [darzheng@connect.hku.hk] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Rd, Nanjing 210008, PR China. *Also affiliated with: Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK. ?Also affiliated with: Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, PR China. ?Also affiliated with: Daran Zheng, Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PR China.     

The visibility of past trees and woodland: testing the value of insect remains

The reconstruction of woodland history is important in relation to archaeological, ecological, biogeographical and evolutionary problems, and insect remains are a significant source of relevant information. Fully natural interglacial and Holocene ‘waterlogged’ deposits assumed to have formed in woodland generally contain abundant macrofossils of both plants and insects indicative of trees. In contrast, British archaeological deposits rich in macrofossil remains of trees often lack, or contain very few, tree-associated insects. To cast light on this contradiction, assemblages of insect (Coleoptera and Hemiptera) remains from a range of modern deposits with various spatial relationships to woodland and trees have been analysed. The proportions of tree-associated insects varied greatly. There was a general trend from higher values in woodland and near to isolated trees of species supporting a rich insect fauna, to low or zero values where there were no trees. However, low values sometimes occurred in woods or near trees, so that rarity of tree-associated insects in archaeological deposits does not always carry the implication of a treeless environment. Further investigation is suggested, with emphasis on the importance of identifying isolated trees, scrub and hedges as a resource for humans and wildlife in the past.     

Holocene archaeological evidence of extinct and very rare British Scarabaeoidea

Abstract

The analysis of British Holocene insect assemblages has discovered nine species of scarabaeoid dung beetles which are now extinct in Britain and two more that are extremely rare. Some of these species had been suspected as native by early 19th century entomologists but doubt had been cast on specimens in old collections of British Coleoptera. Eight are dung feeders which, although they would have initially been favoured by clearance for pasture and a possible warm climate episode in the middle Bronze Age, subsequently declined as a result of increasing cultivation and a slight cooling of the summer climate. The other three species probably became extinct due to human-induced habitat loss.     

The oldest root-eating beetle from the Middle Jurassic of China (Coleoptera,Monotomidae)

Cai, C.-Y., ?lipiński, A. & Huang, D.-Y., 31.3.2015. The oldest root-eating beetle from the Middle Jurassic of China (Coleoptera, Monotomidae). Alcheringa 39,488–493. ISSN 0311-5518.

Jurorhizophagus alienus gen. et sp. nov., a new fossil root-eating beetle, is described and figured based on an exceptionally well-preserved impression fossil from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds (ca 165 Ma), Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. It represents the earliest fossil Monotomidae known to date. Jurorhizophagus can not be assigned to either of two subfamilies Monotominae or Rhizophaginae based on the unique combination of many unusual characters, including an 11-segmented antenna with a 3-segmented club, the presence of a distinct frontoclypeal suture and transverse pronotum with a median longitudinal groove. The discovery of a new genus from the Middle Jurassic highlights the antiquity of Monotomidae and provides new information about the phylogenetic relationships between Monotomidae and its allied families.

Chen-Yang Cai [caichenyang1988@163.com], Di-Ying Huang [dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn] (corresponding author), State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Adam ?lipiński [adam.slipinski@csiro.au], Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Collections Australia, GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.     

A new Llanvirnian Isograptus from the D. murchisoni Shales of Abereiddy Bay,Wales

Isograptus ovatus davidensis subsp. nov. is described from the D. murchisoni Shales of Abereiddy Bay, Wales. This discovery gives further support to the correlation of the murchisoni Zone with the upper part of the Darriwil Stage of Victoria.     

An insect fauna from a modern cesspit and its comparison with probable cesspit assemblages from archaeological sites

The insects recovered by sampling a present day disused cesspit located in south Shropshire are compared with similar assemblages from two sites in 16th century Worcester, and, as controls, with faunas from a modern compost heap and garden soil. A simple experiment is described designed to test whether stored product pest species could have arrived in archaeological deposits considered to be the sites of cesspits after having been eaten with the foodstuffs they were infesting.     

First artematopodid beetle in Mexican amber and its biogeographic implications (Coleoptera,Artematopodidae)

Wu, H., Coty, D. & Ding, M., 10.4.2015. First artematopodid beetle in Mexican amber and its biogeographic implications (Coleoptera, Artematopodidae). Alcheringa 39, xxx-xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Artematopodidae is a small polyphagan family forming one of the basal lineages of Elateroidea. Fossil artematopodids are rare and thus far confined to Eocene Baltic amber. Here, we report the first artematopodid, Electribius palaeomexicanus sp. nov., from Mexican amber. The fossil is placed in Electribius as supported by the following combination of characters: the presence of a setose cavity between the antennal insertion and eye, a shallow groove at the base of the pronotum connecting a pair of cavities, the elytral sutural stria deepened at the apex, and having an indistinct median part of suture between abdominal ventrites 3–5. Electribius palaeomexicanus is compared with all known Electribius species, and it is easily distinguished by its body colour, intercoxal process shape, and length of the longitudinal median ridge on ventrite 5. The new discovery suggests that the modern Central American endemic Electribius has survived in this region at least since the mid-Miocene. It provides new insights into the origin and evolution of Electribius through the Cenozoic.

Hao Wu [mason007343@163.com] and Ming Ding [dijanet@163.com], Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, No. 6 of West Lake Culture Plaza, Hangzhou, 310014, PR China; David Coty [coty.david@gmail.com], Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB, UMR 7205 CNRS UPMC EPHE, CP50, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France.     

When a ‘Waterhole’ Is Full of Dung: An Illustration of the Importance of Environmental Evidence for Refining Archaeological Interpretation of Excavated Features

Prehistoric field systems sometimes encompass excavated, pit‐like features which are difficult to classify due to the complex stratigraphies resulting from reuse, infilling and collapse. They are frequently classified as wells and watering holes, but other potential uses for excavated depressions are rarely cited. We argue the need for environmental archaeology in the interpretation of features of this nature, and present a case study from a Bronze Age site at Pode Hole, near Peterborough (UK), where fossil insect material clearly contradicts the archaeological interpretation. We present empirical evidence for a sealed context filled with dung which cannot be interpreted as a water source. This evidence strongly contrasts with other superficially similar features at the site.     

An unusual basal beetle from Myanmar (Coleoptera: Archostemata)

Jarzembowski, E.A. &; Wang, B., February 2016. An unusual basal beetle from Myanmar (Coleoptera: Archostemata). Alcheringa 40, XX–XX. ISSN 0311-5518

A new archostematan beetle, Stegocoleus caii gen. et sp. nov. (Insecta: Coleoptera) is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber from northern Myanmar. This is the first basal beetle to be formally described from this deposit. It shows a unique combination of family characters and is provisionally referred to Cupedidae in the broad sense and possibly subfamily Ommatinae. The dorsal ornamentation and expanded elytra with window punctures make it a very distinctive albeit rare insect in this rich amber biota. Some of the challenges in studying the inclusions in this amber deposit include their diminutive size, difficulty in preparation and deformation.

Edmund Jarzembowski* [jarzembowski2@live.co.uk] and Bo Wang^? [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Rd, Nanjing 210008, PR China. *Also affiliated with: Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK. ?Also affiliated with: Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, PR China.