Abstract
The first elateroid fossils from the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in Australia are described and illustrated. Wongaroo amplipectorale gen. Et sp. N., based on two specimens, is placed in the family Cerophytidae due to its convex, posteriorly weakly angled and laterally carinate pronotum obscuring the head in dorsal view, its relatively long, pointed elytra and slender legs, its 9-striate elytra with deep basal pits and the absence of metacoxal plates. Beattieellus jurassicus gen. Et sp. N., described from one specimen, possesses the acutely angled pronotum without a carina on the posterolateral angles and the ventral click apparatus typical of Eucnemidae and is classified in this family. Assignment of it to a eucnemid subfamily is impossible because of the insufficient preservation of relevant characters in the fossil. Four other elateroid fossils, possibly representing eucnemids and elaterids, are illustrated and briefly described but not named, due to their insufficient preservation. These fossils represent the first of their kind in Australia and in the Southern Hemisphere, and Beattieellus is also the oldest eucnemid fossil known and extends the fossil record of Eucnemidae into the Upper Jurassic. The discovery of elateroid fossils in the Talbragar Fish Bed adds to the coleopteran diversity of this ancient lake ecosystem, indicating that it was well wooded and provided suitable habitats of rotten wood for the development of the larvae of these taxa.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 177-191 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Zootaxa |
Volume | 4147 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
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The first elateroid beetles (Coleoptera: Polyphaga: Elateroidea) from the Upper Jurassic of Australia. / Oberprieler, Rolf; Ashman', Lauren; FRESE, Michael; Slipinski, Adam.
In: Zootaxa, Vol. 4147, No. 2, 2016, p. 177-191.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - The first elateroid beetles (Coleoptera: Polyphaga: Elateroidea) from the Upper Jurassic of Australia
AU - Oberprieler, Rolf
AU - Ashman', Lauren
AU - FRESE, Michael
AU - Slipinski, Adam
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - The first elateroid fossils from the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in Australia are described and illustrated. Wongaroo amplipectorale gen. Et sp. N., based on two specimens, is placed in the family Cerophytidae due to its convex, posteriorly weakly angled and laterally carinate pronotum obscuring the head in dorsal view, its relatively long, pointed elytra and slender legs, its 9-striate elytra with deep basal pits and the absence of metacoxal plates. Beattieellus jurassicus gen. Et sp. N., described from one specimen, possesses the acutely angled pronotum without a carina on the posterolateral angles and the ventral click apparatus typical of Eucnemidae and is classified in this family. Assignment of it to a eucnemid subfamily is impossible because of the insufficient preservation of relevant characters in the fossil. Four other elateroid fossils, possibly representing eucnemids and elaterids, are illustrated and briefly described but not named, due to their insufficient preservation. These fossils represent the first of their kind in Australia and in the Southern Hemisphere, and Beattieellus is also the oldest eucnemid fossil known and extends the fossil record of Eucnemidae into the Upper Jurassic. The discovery of elateroid fossils in the Talbragar Fish Bed adds to the coleopteran diversity of this ancient lake ecosystem, indicating that it was well wooded and provided suitable habitats of rotten wood for the development of the larvae of these taxa.
AB - The first elateroid fossils from the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in Australia are described and illustrated. Wongaroo amplipectorale gen. Et sp. N., based on two specimens, is placed in the family Cerophytidae due to its convex, posteriorly weakly angled and laterally carinate pronotum obscuring the head in dorsal view, its relatively long, pointed elytra and slender legs, its 9-striate elytra with deep basal pits and the absence of metacoxal plates. Beattieellus jurassicus gen. Et sp. N., described from one specimen, possesses the acutely angled pronotum without a carina on the posterolateral angles and the ventral click apparatus typical of Eucnemidae and is classified in this family. Assignment of it to a eucnemid subfamily is impossible because of the insufficient preservation of relevant characters in the fossil. Four other elateroid fossils, possibly representing eucnemids and elaterids, are illustrated and briefly described but not named, due to their insufficient preservation. These fossils represent the first of their kind in Australia and in the Southern Hemisphere, and Beattieellus is also the oldest eucnemid fossil known and extends the fossil record of Eucnemidae into the Upper Jurassic. The discovery of elateroid fossils in the Talbragar Fish Bed adds to the coleopteran diversity of this ancient lake ecosystem, indicating that it was well wooded and provided suitable habitats of rotten wood for the development of the larvae of these taxa.
KW - Talbragar-Fish-Bed
KW - Cerophytidae
KW - Elateridae
KW - Eucnemidae
KW - beetle-fossil
KW - new-genus
KW - new-species
KW - New genus
KW - New species
KW - Beetle fossil
KW - Talbragar fish bed
KW - Coleoptera/anatomy & histology
KW - Species Specificity
KW - Fossils
KW - Animals
KW - Ecosystem
KW - Australia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84982843771&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.11646/zootaxa.4147.2.5
DO - 10.11646/zootaxa.4147.2.5
M3 - Article
VL - 4147
SP - 177
EP - 191
JO - Zootaxa
JF - Zootaxa
SN - 1175-5326
IS - 2
ER -