A fossil palm bruchid, Caryobruchus dominicanus sp. n. (Pachymerini: Bruchidae) in Dominican amber

Abstract

AbstractPoinar Jr, G. O.: A fossil palm bruchid, Caryobruchus dominicanus sp. n. (Pachymerini: Bruchidae) in Dominican amber. Ent. scand. 30: 219-224. Copenhagen, Denmark. July 1999. ISSN 0013-8711. The first fossil palm bruchid, Caryobruchus dominicanus sp. n. (Coleoptera; Bruchidae) is described from Dominican Republic amber. This species is closely related to extant Central American-West Indian members of the genus, all of which develop in the seeds of palms. Aside from providing indirect evidence of fan palms, especially those of the genus Sabal, in the original Dominican amber forest, the present find shows that seed predation by Caryobruchus spp. was established in the West Indies some 15-45 million years ago.