Abstract
Psephenidae (water-penny beetles) is a small group of byrrhoid beetles, well known for their specialized larval form. Fossil psephenids are usually known as larvae from the Cenozoic deposits. Here we describe and figure the first Mesozoic psephenid, Vetujinbrianax cretaceus gen. et sp. nov., based on a well preserved adult from the Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber. Vetujinbrianax can be placed in the extant subfamily Eubrianacinae, and it has a close affinity to the Oriental genus Jinbrianax based on the presence of plesiomorphic characters such as short prosternal process and paired tibial apical spurs. V. cretaceus represents the oldest fossil record of Eubrianacinae, as well as the first definitive adult fossil of Psephenidae.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 202-207 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Cretaceous Research |
Volume | 91 |
Early online date | 5 Jun 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2018 |
Keywords
- Aquatic beetles
- Burmese amber
- Byrrhoidea
- Fossil
- Palaeodiversity