Discovery of a new sphindid genus (Coleoptera, Sphindidae, Protosphindinae) in Cretaceous amber of Northern Myanmar and taxonomic notes

Abstract

Burmops neli gen. et sp. nov. is described from Cretaceous amber of Northern Myanmar, which is preliminarily assigned to the subfamily Protosphindinae Sen Gupta & Crowson, 1979 (family Sphindidae). This is the first record of the subfamily from the Mesozoic and the first in the fossil record at all. The new genus differs from the Recent Protosphindus Sen Gupta & Crowson, 1979 and Cretaceous Pleuroceratos Poinar & Kirejtshuk, 2008 (transferred here to the subfamily Protosphindinae) in the rather convex dorsum, head with peculiar pattern of above grooves and convexities, regular elytral punctation of longitudinal rows of very coarse punctures, non-explanate and gently undulate pronotal sides (without large teeth), sharp and subrectilinear longitudinal carinae and sharp carina along anterior edge of pronotum, and also rather projecting anterior edge of pronotum. New studies of additional specimens of Pleuroceratos burmiticus from Cretaceous amber of Northern Myanmar made it possible to establish a tentative position of this genus in the subfamily Protosphindinae, very similar and closely related to Protosphindus. The fossil record of this specialized beetle family can be considered as an indirect evidence of the presence of their food resource (slime molds) in Cretaceous ecosystems.