Paleontology of leaf beetles

`The rate of evolution in any large group is not uniform; there are periods of relatise stability, and periods of comparatively rapid change.' Cockerell and LeVeque, 1931 To Yenli Ych, my beloved wife, a most wonderful person! The fossil record of the Chrysomelidae can be tentatively traced back to the late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic Triassic. Mesozoic records at least 9 subfamilies, 19 genera, and 35 species, are represented by the Sagrinae, the exclusively Mesozoic Proto scelinae, Clytrinae, Cryptocephalinae, Eumolpinae, Chrysomelinae. Galerucinac, Alticinae, and Cassidinae. Cenozoic records at least 12 subfamilies- 63 % of the extant- 12! genera, and 325 species, include the same extant subfamilies as well as the Donaciinae, Zeugophorinae, Criocerinae, and Hispinae and can be frequently identified to genus, especially if preserved in amber. Quaternary records are often identified to extant species. tn total, at least t3! genera about 4 % of total extant, and 357 species < 1 % have been reported. At least, 24 genera <1 % of the extant seem to be extinct. Although reliable biological information associated with the fossil chrysomelids is very scarce, it seems that most of the modern host-plant associations were established, at least, in the late Mesozoic to early Cenozoic. As a whole, stasis seems to be the general rule of the chrysomelid fossil record. Together with other faunal elements, chrysomelids, especially donaciines, have been used as biogeographic and paleoclimatological indicators in the Holocene. I

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

Sarcophagidae. Diptera from Nepal

Volume: 17Start Page: 457End Page: 46

Über wenig bekannte nordische Miltogrammatinen der Gattung Oebalia R.-D. (Diptera: Sarcophagidae).

In der Arbeit werden systematische Beziehungen zwischen Arten der Gattung Oebalia R.-D. behandelt, die an Vertreter von Grabwespen der Gattung Crabro (Sphecidae) gebunden sind. In einer Bestimmungstabelle werden 7 Arten beschrieben, die 2 Subgenera angehören. Nach Untersuchung der Sammelart "Ptychoneura praeclusa Stein" und nach Kenntnis neuen Materials wurden 4 neue Arten ermittelt.Nomenklatorische Handlungenrossica Rohdendorf, 1963 (Oebalia (s. str.)), spec. n.sachtlebeni Rohdendorf, 1963 (Oebalia (s. str.)), spec. n.sibirica Rohdendorf, 1963 (Oebalia (s. str.)), spec. n.unistriata Rohdendorf, 1963 (Oebalia (s. str.)), spec. n.The above publication deals with the relations between some species of the genus Oebalia R.-D. associated with digging wasps of the genus Crabro (Sphecidae). A key for the identification contains 7 species belonging to 2 subgenera. After a study of the complex species "Ptychoneura praeclusa Stein" including new material 4 new species were found. Nomenclatural Actsrossica Rohdendorf, 1963 (Oebalia (s. str.)), spec. n.sachtlebeni Rohdendorf, 1963 (Oebalia (s. str.)), spec. n.sibirica Rohdendorf, 1963 (Oebalia (s. str.)), spec. n.unistriata Rohdendorf, 1963 (Oebalia (s. str.)), spec. n

Studien \ufcber s\ufcdiranische Sarcophagiden (Dipt.)

Volume: 58Start Page: 1End Page: 1