A new species of the subgenus Meligethes Stephens (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) from Sichuan, China

Abstract: Meligethes (Meligethes) pallidoelytrorum, Chen et Kirejtshuk sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Sichuan, China. It can be readily distinguished from related species by the smoothed dorsal integument, diffused and sparse punctations on elytra and the very distinct tooth at base of the claw. Meligethe

Plant-dominated assemblage and invertebrates from the lower Cenomanian of Jaunay-Clan, western France

International audienceTwo fossil localities are reported on the "LGV SEA" railroad from the Lower Cenomanianof Jaunay-Clan (JC), near Poitiers, western France. The laminated mudstones yielded plantfossils including ferns (Cladophlebis, Osmundophyllum, Ruffordia goeppertii, Sphenopteris),conifers (Brachyphyllum, Dammarophyllum, Pagiophyllum), and terrestrial and aquaticfreshwater angiosperms (Eucalyptolaurus depreii, Ploufolia). They are associated with acoleopteran insect that shows systematic affinities to the modern subfamily Chrysomeli-nae (Chrysomelidae). This assemblage suggests connections with arborescent vegetationgrowing in calm freshwater environment. Brackish to marine invertebrates also occurand include a dakoticancroid crab (Brachyura, Podotremata, Dakoticancroidea) and a fewbivalves (Brachidontes). They suggest brackish episodes during pond sedimentation in acoastal environment. Lastly, vertebrates are represented by an isolated feather

Comment on the letter of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) dated April 21, 2020 regarding 'Fossils from conflict zones and reproducibility of fossil‑based scientific data': Myanmar amber

Recently, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) has sent around a letter, dated 21st April, 2020 to more than 300 palaeontological journals, signed by the President, Vice President and a former President of the society (Rayfield et al. 2020). The signatories of this letter request significant changes to the common practices in palaeontology. With our present, multi-authored comment, we aim to argue why these suggestions will not lead to improvement of both practice and ethics of palaeontological research but, conversely, hamper its further development. Although we disagree with most contents of the SVP letter, we appreciate this initiative to discuss scientific practices and the underlying ethics. Here, we consider different aspects of the suggestions by Rayfield et al. (2020) in which we see weaknesses and dangers. It is our intent to compile views from many different fields of palaeontology, as our discipline is (and should remain) pluralistic. This contribution deals with the aspects concerning Myanmar amber. Reference is made to Haug et al. (2020a) for another comment on aspects concerning amateur palaeontologists/citizen scientists/private collectors

Comment on the letter of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) dated April 21, 2020 regarding “Fossils from conflict zones and reproducibility of fossil‑based scientific data”: Myanmar amber

Non peer reviewe

Cockroaches Probably Cleaned Up after Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs undoubtedly produced huge quantities of excrements. But who cleaned up after them? Dung beetles and flies with rapid development were rare during most of the Mesozoic. Candidates for these duties are extinct cockroaches (Blattulidae), whose temporal range is associated with herbivorous dinosaurs. An opportunity to test this hypothesis arises from coprolites to some extent extruded from an immature cockroach preserved in the amber of Lebanon, studied using synchrotron X-ray microtomography. 1.06% of their volume is filled by particles of wood with smooth edges, in which size distribution directly supports their external pre-digestion. Because fungal pre-processing can be excluded based on the presence of large particles (combined with small total amount of wood) and absence of damages on wood, the likely source of wood are herbivore feces. Smaller particles were broken down biochemically in the cockroach hind gut, which indicates that the recent lignin-decomposing termite and cockroach endosymbionts might have been transferred to the cockroach gut upon feeding on dinosaur feces

Changes to the Fossil Record of Insects through Fifteen Years of Discovery

The first and last occurrences of hexapod families in the fossil record are compiled from publications up to end-2009. The major features of these data are compared with those of previous datasets (1993 and 1994). About a third of families (>400) are new to the fossil record since 1994, over half of the earlier, existing families have experienced changes in their known stratigraphic range and only about ten percent have unchanged ranges. Despite these significant additions to knowledge, the broad pattern of described richness through time remains similar, with described richness increasing steadily through geological history and a shift in dominant taxa, from Palaeoptera and Polyneoptera to Paraneoptera and Holometabola, after the Palaeozoic. However, after detrending, described richness is not well correlated with the earlier datasets, indicating significant changes in shorter-term patterns. There is reduced Palaeozoic richness, peaking at a different time, and a less pronounced Permian decline. A pronounced Triassic peak and decline is shown, and the plateau from the mid Early Cretaceous to the end of the period remains, albeit at substantially higher richness compared to earlier datasets. Origination and extinction rates are broadly similar to before, with a broad decline in both through time but episodic peaks, including end-Permian turnover. Origination more consistently exceeds extinction compared to previous datasets and exceptions are mainly in the Palaeozoic. These changes suggest that some inferences about causal mechanisms in insect macroevolution are likely to differ as well

On the evolution of anthophilous Nitidulidae (Coleoptera) in tropical and subtropical regions

Volume: 47Start Page: 111End Page: 13

ASEF 1-2-2010.indb

Abstract. The paper deals with descriptions of four new species of Archostemata from the Paleocene and Earliest Eocene amber, Cupes manifestus n. sp., C. orbiculatus n. sp., C. ponomarenkoi n. sp. and Micromalthus eocenicus n. sp., the latter representing the oldest member of genus Micromalthus Leconte 1878 (Micromalthidae). The position, composition and origin of the genera Cupes and Micromalthus are considered. Cupes seemed to appear during Cretaceous or very close to this period, while Micromalthus could originate somewhat later. The synonymy of Cupedini and Priacmini is grounded. The genus Crowsoniella Pace 1975 (Crowsoniellidae) could be excluded from the suborder Archostemata and transferred into the infraorder Cucujiformia (Polyphaga). Résumé. Nouveaux Archostemata d

Taxonomic Review of Fossil Coleopterous Families (Insecta, Coleoptera). Suborder Archostemata: Superfamilies Coleopseoidea and Cupedoidea

The paper is the first of a series, which aims to present a consistent interpretation of the suprageneric taxa of fossil beetles in the current century and their generic and species composition. Order Coleoptera is considered in composition of the superorder Coleopteroidea Handlirsch, 1903 (= Coleopterida sensu Boudreaux, 1979, nec Pearse, 1936) together with orders Skleroptera and Strepsiptera, and also with the family Umenocoleidae of unclear position. This paper includes the archostematan superfamilies Coleopseoidea and Cupedoidea of the infraorder Cupediformia, i.e., Coleopseidae (one genus and one species), Tshekardocoleidae (12 genera, 15 species), Labradorocoleidae (one genus, one species), Permocupedidae (together with Taldycupedinae, stat. nov., 24 genera and 54 species) and Cupedidae (three subfamilies, 49 genera, 253 species). The preliminary information on structure of the larva of Tshekardocoleidae from Tshekarda is done. There are also described the new taxa: genus Afrotaldycupes Kirejtshuk, gen. nov. with the type species: genus Taldycupes africanus Ponomarenko in Ponomarenko & Mostovski, 2005 [Afrotaldycupes africanus comb. nov.] and Afrotaldycupes lidgettoniensis (Ponomarenko in Ponomarenko & Mostovski, 2005), comb. nov. [Taldycupes]; genus Allophalerus Kirejtshuk, gen. nov. with the type species: Tetraphalerus aphaleratus Ponomarenko, 1969 [Allophalerus aphaleratus comb. nov.], and also with Allophalerus antiquus (Ponomarenko, 1964), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Allophalerus bontsaganensis (Ponomarenko, 1997), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Allophalerus incertus (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Allophalerus latus (Tan, Ren et Shih, 2007), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Allophalerus maximus (Ponomarenko, 1968), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Allophalerus okhotensis (Ponomarenko, 1993), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Allophalerus tenuipes (Ponomarenko, 1964), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Allophalerus verrucosus (Ponomarenko, 1966), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus]; genus Bukhkalius Kirejtshuk et Jarzembowski, gen. nov. with the type species: Tetraphalerus lindae Jarzembowski, Wang et Zheng, 2017 [Bukhkalius lindae comb. nov.]; genus Burmocoleus Kirejtshuk, gen. nov. with the type species: Burmocoleus prisnyi sp. nov. and Burmocoleus zhiyuani (Liu, Tan, Ślipiński, Jarzembowski, Wang, Ren et Pang, 2017), comb. nov. [Brochocoleus]; genus Cionocups Kirejtshuk, gen. nov. with the type species: Cionocups manukyani sp. nov.; genus Echinocups Kirejtshuk et Jarzembowski, gen. nov. with the type species: Notocupes neli Tihelka, Huang et Cai, 2020 [Echinocups neli comb. nov.], and also Echinocups ohmkuhnlei (Jarzembowski, Wang et Zheng, 2020), comb. nov. [Notocupes] and Echinocups denticollis (Jiang, Li, Song, Shi, Liu, Chen et Kong, 2020), comb. nov. [Notocupes]; genus Jarzembowskops Kirejtshuk, gen. nov. with the type species: Brochocoleus caseyi Jarzembowski, Wang et Zheng, 2016 [Jarzembowskops caseyi comb. nov.]; genus Lobanovia Kirejtshuk, gen. nov. with the type species: Simmondsia permiana Ponomarenko, 2013 [Lobanovia permiana comb. nov.]; genus Pintolla Kirejtshuk, gen. nov. with the type species: Kaltanicupes ponomarenkoi Pinto, 1987 [Pintolla ponomarenkoi comb. nov.]; genus Polyakius Kirejtshuk, gen. nov. with the type species: Polyakius alberti Kirejtshuk, sp. nov. and Polyakius pubescens Kirejtshuk, sp. nov.; Clessidromma zengi Kirejtshuk, sp. nov.; Cupes golovatchi Kirejtshuk, sp. nov.; Cupes legalovi Kirejtshuk, sp. nov.; Cupes lutzi Kirejtshuk, sp. nov.; Cupes nabozhenkoi Kirejtshuk, sp. nov.; Cupes wedmannae Kirejtshuk, sp. nov.; Mallecupes prokini Kirejtshuk, sp. nov. and Omma janetae Kirejtshuk, sp. nov. The new synonymy is established for the generic names Clessidromma Jarzembowski, Wang et Zheng, 2017 and Lepidomma Jarzembowski, Wang et Zheng, 2019, syn. nov. The rank of Cainomerga A. Kirejtshuk, Nel et P. Kirejtshuk, 2016 is elevated from subgeneric to generic. Also other new combinations are proposed: Cainomerga brevicornis (A. Kirejtshuk, Nel et P. Kirejtshuk, 2016), comb. nov. [Mesocupes], Cainomerga fraterna (A. Kirejtshuk, Nel et P. Kirejtshuk, 2016), comb. nov. [Mesocupes], Cainomerga immaculata (Piton, 1940: 194), comb. nov. [Zonabris, Mesocupes], Cainomerga palaeocenica (A. Kirejtshuk, Nel et P. Kirejtshuk, 2016), comb. nov. [Mesocupes], and Cainomerga ponti (A. Kirejtshuk, Nel et P. Kirejtshuk, 2016), comb. nov. [Mesocupes], Clessidromma tianae (Jarzembowski, Wang et Zheng, 2019), comb. nov. [Lepidomma], Diluticupes applanatus (Tan et Ren, 2009), comb. nov. [Brochocoleus], Diluticupes crowsonae (Jarzembowski, Yan, Wang et Zhang. 2013), comb. nov. [Brochocoleus], Diluticupes magnus (Tan et Ren, 2009), comb. nov. [Brochocoleus], Diluticupes minor (Ponomarenko, 2000), comb. nov. [Brochocoleus], Diluticupes validus (Tan et Ren, 2009), comb. nov. [Brochocoleus], Diluticupes yangshuwanziensis (Jarzembowski, Yan, Wang et Zhang. 2013), comb. nov. [Brochocoleus], Monticupes curtinervis (Tan, Ren et Shih, 2007), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Monticupes decorosus (Tan, Wang, Ren et Yang, 2012), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Odontomma sulcatum (Tan, Ren et Shih, 2007), comb. nov. [Brochocoleus], Omma ancistrodontum (Tan, Wang, Ren et Yang, 2012), comb. nov. [Pareuryomma], Omma grande (Ponomarenko, 1964), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Omma longicolle (Ponomarenko, 1997), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Pareuryomma angustum (Tan, Ren et Shich, 2007), comb. nov. [Brochocoleus], Pareuryomma magnum (Tan et Ren, 2009), comb. nov. [Brochocoleus], Zygadenia aliena (Tan et Ren, 2006), comb. nov. [Ovatocupes], Zygadenia baojiatunensis (Hong 1992), comb. nov. [Chengdecupes], Zygadenia brachycephala (Ponomarenko, 1994), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia caduca (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia caudata (Ponomarenko, 1966), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia cellulosa (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia crassa (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov., [Notocupes], Zygadenia cyclodontus (Tan, Ren, Shih et Ge, 2006), comb. nov. [Amblomma, Notocupes], Zygadenia dischdes (Zhang, 1986), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Notocupes dundulaensis (Ponomarenko, 1994), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia elegans (Ponomarenko, 1994), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia epicharis (Tan, Ren et Liu, 2005), comb. nov. [Amblomma, Notocupes], Zygadenia eumeura (Tan, Ren et Liu, 2005), comb. nov. [Amblomma, Notocupes], Zygadenia excellens (Ponomarenko, 1966), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia exigua (Ponomarenko, 1994), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia foersteri (Ponomarenko, 1971), comb. nov. [Procarabus, Notocupes], Zygadenia homora (Lin, 1986), comb. nov. [Conexicoxa, Notocupes], Zygadenia issykkulensis (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia jurassica (Hong 1983), comb. nov. [Chengdecupes], Zygadenia kezuoensis (Hong 1987), comb. nov. [Chengdecupes], Zygadenia khasurtuiensis (Strelnikova, 2019), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia khetanensis (Ponomarenko, 1993), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia kirghizica (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia laeta (Lin, 1976), [Tetraphalerus], Zygadenia laiyangensis (Hong et Wang, 1990), comb. nov. [Forticupes, Notocupes], Zygadenia lapidaria (Ponomarenko, 1968), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia laticella (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia lata (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia lenta (Ren, Lu, Guo et Ji, 1995), comb. nov. [Tetraphalerus], Zygadenia lini (Ponomarenko, Yan, Wang et Zhang, 2012), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia longicollis (Ponomarenko, 1994), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia ludongensis (Wang et Liu, 1996), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia minuscula (Tan, Ren, Shih et Ge, 2006), comb. nov. [Amblomma, Notocupes], Zygadenia mongolica (Ponomarenko, 1994), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia nigrimonticola (Ponomarenko, 1968), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia oxypyga (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia patula (Ponomarenko, 1985), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia pingi (Ponomarenko et Ren, 2010), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia porrecta (Tan, Ren, Shih et Ge, 2006), comb. nov. [Amblomma, Notocupes], Zygadenia protensa (Tan, Ren, Shih et Ge, 2006), comb. nov. [Amblomma, Notocupes], Zygodenia psilata (Tan, Ren et Liu, 2005), comb. nov. [Amblomma, Notocupes], , Zygadenia pulchra Ponomarenko, 1968, comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia reticulata (Oppenheim, 1888), comb. nov. [Procarabus, Notocupes], Notocupes rostrata (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia rudis (Tan, Ren et Liu, 2005), comb. nov. [Amblomma, Notocupes], Zygadenia shiluoensis (Hong 1984), comb. nov. [Chengdecupes], Zygadenia sogutensis (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov., Zygadenia stabilis (Tan, Ren et Liu, 2005), comb. nov. [Amblomma, Notocupes], Zygadenia tenuis (Ponomarenko, 1969), comb. nov. [Notocupes], Zygadenia tripartita (Oppenheim, 1888), comb. nov. [Procarabus, Notocupes], Zygadenia tuanwangensis (Hong et Wang, 1990), comb. nov. [Picticupes, Notocupes], Zygadenia valida (Lin, 1976), comb. nov. [Sinocupes, Notocupes], Zygadenia vitimensis (Ponomarenko, 1966), comb. nov. [Notocupes]