Revisiting the morphology and systematic placement of the enigmatic Cretaceous ommatid beetle Bukhkalius lindae (Coleoptera: Archostemata: Ommatidae)

Abstract The systematic position of Bukhkalius lindae (Jarzembowski et al. 2017) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber is revised based on a re-examination of the type specimen. Our observations confirm that B. lindae lacks unique apomorphies of Tetraphalerus Waterhouse, in which it was originally place...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yan-Da Li, Di-Ying Huang, Chen-Yang Cai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade de São Paulo 2021-04-01
Series:Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0031-10492021000100228&tlng=en
Description
Summary:Abstract The systematic position of Bukhkalius lindae (Jarzembowski et al. 2017) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber is revised based on a re-examination of the type specimen. Our observations confirm that B. lindae lacks unique apomorphies of Tetraphalerus Waterhouse, in which it was originally placed, including complete antennal grooves and mushroom-shaped micro-tubercles. It is well justified to place it into a separate genus, i.e., Bukhkalius Kirejtshuk & Jarzembowski, 2020. The incomplete but distinct antennal grooves and the Tetraphalerus-like mouthparts of B. lindae suggest that it has a close affinity to Tetraphalerus. Therefore, B. lindae may represent a missing link bridging the morphological gap between extant ommatid subfamilies Tetraphalerinae and Ommatinae.
ISSN:1807-0205