Article
Biology
Robin Kundrata, Gabriela Packova, Kristaps Kairiss, Andris Bukejs, Johana Hoffmannova, Stephan M. Blank
Summary: Advancements in computational and tomographic methods have allowed for detailed descriptions of fossil specimens in amber. This study focused on reconstructing the morphology of a new species of the beetle family Ptilodactylidae from Eocene Baltic amber using X-ray microcomputed tomography. The discovery sheds light on the paleodiversity and evolution of the family as well as the faunal composition of the European Eocene amber forests.
Article
Biology
Jan Simon-Prazak, Jakub Prokop, Tomas Lackner
Summary: This paper describes the first fossil species of the extant genus Eulomalus found in the Eocene Baltic amber. The newly described species, Eulomalus balticus, has a flattened body shape and is adapted to live under the bark of decaying trees. It is the only European representative of this genus, which is mainly distributed in the Indomalayan realm.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
M. A. X. I. M. Nabozhenko, Evgeny E. Perkovsky, Vitaliy Yu. Nazarenko
Summary: A new genus and species of fossil darkling beetle, Archaeoluprops groehni gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Eocene Baltic amber. It closely resembles species of the Lupropini and Goniaderini tribes in external morphology but differs in lacking intersegmental membranes between abdominal ventrites 3-5 and defensive glands. Based on its combination of primitive and derived characters and distinctions from other extinct and extant lagriine tribes, a new tribe, Archaeolupropini trib. nov., is established. The absence of Baltic amber lagriine tribes in extant fauna of middle latitudes in Europe is noted.
Article
Zoology
Vitalii Alekseev, Andris Bukejs
Summary: A new polypore fungus beetle species E. praecursor is described based on well-preserved Baltic amber specimens. It is the first member of the subfamily Eustrophinae from the Cenozoic era. This fossil discovery expands the diversity of Tetratomidae in the Eocene "amber forest".
Article
Biology
A. A. Legalov, D. V. Vasilenko, E. E. Perkovsky
Summary: The new genus Bojebenzonia n. gen. and its species B. karinae n. sp. from the tribe Oxycraspedini (Belidae: Oxycoryninae) are described from late Eocene Baltic amber. Bojebenzonia differs from the genus Oxycraspedus by its tibiae lacking apical spurs, subparallel pronotal sides, weakly convex body, and wide tibiae. A list of fossil species of the subfamily Oxycoryninae and a key to tribes and subtribes of the subfamily Oxycoryninae are provided. The study suggests that the new genus may have fed on the family Araucariaceae or Doliostrobaceae. The trophic associations of extant Oxycoryninae are briefly discussed.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
A. A. Legalov
Summary: A new species from Baltic amber belonging to the subfamily Choraginae is described. This is the first record of this subfamily in Baltic amber.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Massimo Olmi, Dmitry V. Vasilenko, Leonardo Capradossi, Evgeny E. Perkovsky, Adalgisa Guglielmino
Summary: A new species, Lonchodryinus groehni sp. nov., is described from Baltic amber, closely related to L. balticus but distinguishable by different OPL/POL ratio and 2r-rs&Rs vein of the fore wing. The paper provides a key to fossil species of Lonchodryinus and compares it to the extant species L. ruficornis.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Gregory D. Edgecombe, Susan E. Strange, George Popovici, Taylor West, Varpu Vahtera
Summary: This study presents the first fossil occurrence of the Plutoniumidae family, a clade represented by seven extant species, based on four specimens of scolopendromorph centipede from Eocene Baltic amber. The fossil material belongs to the genus Theatops and is distinct from its extant counterparts. The discovery provides evidence for the extent and nature of tropical to warm temperate European forests during the Eocene and supports the hypothesis that the distribution of Plutoniumidae has been pruned by extinction.
JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marina Moser, Roger A. Burks, Jonah M. Ulmer, John M. Heraty, Thomas van de Kamp, Lars Krogmann
Summary: Spalangiopelta is a small genus of chalcid wasps that includes two newly described fossil species from Baltic amber, extending the minimum age of the genus to the Upper Eocene. The fossils were analyzed using 3D models reconstructed from mu CT data and their phylogenetic placement within the genus was determined. Discussions on the phylogenetic and functional relevance of two wing characters were also included in the study.
Article
Biology
Marina Kirichenko-Babko, Evgeny E. Perkovsky, Dmitry V. Vasilenko
Summary: The paper describes a new ground beetle, Antephilorhizus pripiatiensis gen. et sp. nov., found in the late Eocene Rovno amber, and provides a comparative analysis of its characteristics and classification position.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Vitalii Igorevich Alekseev, Andris Bukejs
Summary: Six new extinct representatives of the family Melandryidae are described from Eocene Baltic amber, along with twenty-eight additional fossil specimens belonging to ten species. A compiled list of Melandryidae described from Baltic amber is provided with an identification key.
Article
Biology
Andrei A. Legalov, Andris Bukejs, Anarina Vanaga, Vitalii I. Alekseev
Summary: A new species of the genus Cartorhynchites from Baltic amber is described, and it is studied and illustrated in detail using X-ray micro-computed tomography. A list of fossil Rhynchitidae and a key to species of Rhynchitidae in Baltic amber are provided. The assumption is made that the Recent distribution range of the genus Cartorhynchites is within the range of its host plant.
Article
Zoology
Pawel Jaloszynski, Evgeny E. Perkovsky
Summary: This study describes a new extinct species of Euconnus, the first unambiguously placed member of the broadly distributed extant subgenus Cladoconnus, based on a unique male specimen found in Ukrainian amber. The male of this new species has antennae that are similar in structure to extant congeners, but the modification of antennomere 8 is so profound and bizarre that it can be used to identify adults of E. nathani.
Article
Paleontology
Vitalii Alekseev, Andris Bukejs
Summary: A study on Baltic amber led to the discovery of a new fossil species within the genus Bacanius LeConte, 1853. The new species, Bacanius gorskii, differs from a previously described species from Eocene Rovno amber in several key characteristics.
Article
Zoology
Maximilian G. Pankowski, Fabrizio Fanti
Summary: This article describes two new species of soldier beetles (Malthinus masoni sp. nov. and Malthodes markpankowskii sp. nov.) discovered in Baltic amber. Their discovery provides further evidence of the abundant diversity of soldier beetles in Europe during the Eocene, which can likely be attributed to the warmer climate during that epoch and the presence of various habitats where Baltic amber formed.
Article
Biology
G. Poinar, A. A. Legalov
Summary: A new weevil genus, Bronchotibia gen. nov., is described from Dominican amber, resembling the Central American genus Theognete but with distinct differences. This discovery represents the first fossil record of the tribe Lymantini.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Andrei A. Legalov, Vitaliy Yu Nazarenko, Dmitry V. Vasilenko, Evgeny E. Perkovsky
Summary: The beetle Ceutorhynchus is considered a proxy for Eocene core Brassicaceae, indicating its presence during this time period. Despite the scarce fossil record of Brassicaceae, the presence of Ceutorhynchus species-group and the discovery of the oldest Brassicaceae in Montana suggest an early Priabonian age for the core Brassicaceae.
JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
A. A. Legalov
Summary: The translation describes a new leaf beetle species, Aulacoscelis (Cretaulacoscelis) santanensis, from the Santana Formation in the Lower Cretaceous. It belongs to a new subgenus with distinct features different from other Aulacoscelis species. This discovery marks the first record of a fossil Orsodacnidae and Chrysomeloidea from the Santana Formation.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Roman Yu. Dudko, Guzel A. Danukalova, Anna A. Gurina, Alexander V. Ivanov, Yuri E. Mikhailov, Eugenija M. Osipova, Alexander S. Prosvirov, Alexey Yu. Solodovnikov, Andrei A. Legalov, Evgenii V. Zinovyev
Summary: This study presents new data on subfossil insects and molluscs from the Gornovo site in the Southern Fore-Urals. The findings correct the stratigraphic interpretation of the sediments in the area and indicate that they belong to the Tabulda Horizon of the Upper Pleistocene. The composition of insects and molluscs suggests a succession of deposit accumulation in the river valley from reservoirs to an overgrown oxbow lake.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Biology
A. A. Legalov, G. Poinar
Summary: A new species, Archaeosciaphilus gyrommatus n. sp. of the subfamily Entiminae, has been described from Baltic amber. It is similar to A. marshalli but differs in various characteristics. The genus Archaeosciaphilus has been transferred to a different tribe, and a list of species from the same subfamily in Baltic amber is provided. The relationships between the Entiminae fauna of Baltic amber and other Eocene localities are discussed.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Paleontology
A. A. Legalov
Summary: This study revises the species of the genus Belonotaris Arnoldi from the Middle-Upper Jurassic of Kazakhstan and China. It synonymizes Arnoldibelus Legalov and Sinoeuglypheus Yu, Davis et Shih with Belonotaris. The diagnosis of Belonotaris is supplemented and its family placement is established. The similarities of Jurassic weevil faunas from different locations are discussed, as well as the possible association of Jurassic Nemonychidae with Bennettitales and other gymnosperms.
PALEONTOLOGICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
A. A. Legalov
Summary: A new species of weevil, Pseudanthonomus antonkozlovi sp. nov., from Early Miocene Mexican amber, is described and illustrated in this study. This new species differs from P. rufulus Dietz, 1891 from Canada and USA in terms of its larger body size, longer rostrum, and wider femora. It represents the first fossil record of the genus Pseudanthonomus and the second representative of the tribe Anthonomini described from Mexican amber.
PALEONTOLOGICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
A. A. Legalov
Summary: A new species of apionine weevil, Baltoconapium vilhelmseni sp. nov., was discovered in Baltic amber. This new species differs from the only known species in the genus, B. anderseni (Voss, 1972), in terms of body shape, elytra, elytral interstriae, rostrum length, and body size.
PALEONTOLOGICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Biology
A. A. Legalov, D. V. Vasilenko, E. E. Perkovsky
Summary: This article describes two new species of the genus Demimaea from Rovno amber. The differences between these new species and their extant counterparts are highlighted, and assumptions are made about the presence of Ficus genus plants in the Eocene of Northern and Eastern Europe.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrei A. Legalov, Dmitry V. Vasilenko, Evgeny E. Perkovsky
Summary: Based on the distribution of Anypotactini and Eudiagogini tribes, it is inferred that the climate of late Eocene amber forests resembled that of Valdivian temperate forests. A new species, Paonaupactus zosimovichi sp. n., belonging to the Anypotactini tribe of the subfamily Entiminae, is described from Late Eocene Rovno amber. It differs from Paonaupactus gracilis in terms of its scale density on the elytral interstriae, clear visibility of interstrial lines between scales, and smaller body size.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Anna A. Gurina, Roman Y. Dudko, Alexander V. Ivanov, Alexey A. Kotov, Yuri E. Mikhailov, Alexander A. Prokin, Alexander S. Prosvirov, Alexey Y. Solodovnikov, Evgenii V. Zinovyev, Andrei A. Legalov
Summary: Subfossil remains of insects and branchiopods were found in late Pleistocene deposits in Novosibirsk, Russia. The deposits had calibrated radiocarbon dates corresponding to marine isotope stage 2. The insect assemblages were diverse, with a high number of beetle species, including some that were found for the first time in Western Siberia. The ecological composition was dominated by steppe and tundra-steppe species.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrei A. Legalov, Jiri Hava
Summary: This study compared the diversity and abundance of auger beetles with ecologically similar families of other beetles, identified several new species, provided a key to the genus Poinarinius, established a new synonym, and compiled a list of fossil Bostrichidae.
Review
Biology
Andrei A. Legalov
Summary: This study suggests that palms of the genus Arenga or similar forms were present in the Eocene of North America and Europe. Fossil records of Metrioxenini, which feed exclusively on these palms, support this hypothesis. A new species, Succinometrioxena andrushchenkoi Legalov, sp. n., found in Baltic amber, is described and differentiated from other species based on body size, elytral punctation, and the curvature of the rostrum in females. The male description of S. poinari is provided for the first time, along with a list and key to fossil Metrioxenini. The distribution of modern and fossil Metrioxenini and Arenga palms is also documented.
Article
Biology
Andrei A. Legalov, Andris Bukejs, Anarina Vanaga, Vitalii I. Alekseev
Summary: A new species of the genus Cartorhynchites from Baltic amber is described, and it is studied and illustrated in detail using X-ray micro-computed tomography. A list of fossil Rhynchitidae and a key to species of Rhynchitidae in Baltic amber are provided. The assumption is made that the Recent distribution range of the genus Cartorhynchites is within the range of its host plant.
Article
Paleontology
Andrei A. Legalov, Alexander G. Kirejtshuk, Andre Nel
Summary: A new molytine species, Archaeoheilus gallicus n. sp. from the Paleocene of Menat (France) is described and illustrated. It is similar to other species from the early-middle Eocene and late Eocene, but differs in certain characteristics. The paper also discusses the links between the weevil faunas of America and Europe in the Paleogene.
COMPTES RENDUS PALEVOL
(2022)
