New subgenus and three new species of soldier beetles from the Eocene of Baltic amber

[摘要] One fossil subgenus and three fossil species of soldier beetles:Libertimalthodes subg. nov., Cantharis (Cantharis) dougi sp. nov.,Malthodes (Libertimalthodes) elytratus sp. nov. and Malthodes (Malthodes) nublar sp. nov., are described from Eocene Baltic amber. The deposit appears to be comparatively rich in inclusions of Cantharidae. The new subgenus differs from the nominotypical subgenus in possessing elytra that are elongated and covering the last abdominal urites, a huge aedeagus and the last abdominal sternite that is wide and little modified. Furthermore, the new species has an aedeagus that is almost completely extruded, which is a rare feature to find in fossils of soldier beetles. Malthodes nublar sp. nov. is characterized by short elytra and has a different shape of the terminalia, while Cantharis dougi sp. nov. has a different pronotal shape than in known fossil species. Malthodes aphidiphagus Fanti and Michalski, 2018, is transferred from the nominotypical subgenus Malthodes to the new subgenus Libertimalthodes.

[学科分类] 地质学

[关键词] Janusz Kupryjanowicz;Fabrizio Fanti;soldier beetles;resin;palaeoinclusions;Eocene;fossils;new taxa