First biological inclusion in Upper Cretaceous Texas amber, USA

Abstract

The first biological inclusion in Cretaceous (Cenomanian) amber from Texas (USA) is here documented. Most of the Cretaceous ambers with biological inclusions are from Europe (Spain, France) and Myanmar (Asia). Although the coleopteran here reported is microscopic and incomplete, it preserves enough morphological details to be identified as a member of the Family Ptinidae Latreille, 1802. This antecedent is significative and reveals the potential of this Cretaceous amber to contain more diverse bioinclusions, since the paleoenvironment suggested by the sediments that contain the amber and the ecological affinity of recent representatives of the Ptinidae suggest a humid forest near an estuary, associated to deltaic plain deposits. Este hallazgo representa la inclusión biológica en ámbar más antigua en las Americas.