Abstract
Two new extinct species of dasytid beetles, Aploceble (Chalcoaploceble) rasnitsyni sp. nov. and A. (Ch.) majeri sp. nov. are described from late Eocene Baltic amber. Amongst the congeners, A. (Ch.) rasnitsyni sp. nov. differs in sparse, deep and smoothed punctation and narrow pronotum with distinctly explanate lateral sides, whereas A. (Ch.) majeri sp. nov. is distinguished by punctation of the upper surfaces lacking microsculpture, relatively long antennae reaching basal quarter of elytral length, apical palpomere widely triangular, and long epipleura reaching a middle of the abdominal ventrite III. New generic characters of male sex have been registered for the first time, namely lateral margin of the pronotum minutely crenulate and intermediate tarsomere 1 is distinctly flattened at pedal side, covered with white small adhesive setae, while strong dark bristles surround the sides of the tarsomere, which allow us to supplement the diagnosis of the genus Aploceble with new characters. A new record of Aploceble (Aploceble) kunowi Majer, 1998 is also presented, including additional characters not mentioned in the original description. Illustrations of the newly registered fossils and a key to all described species of the extinct genus Aploceble Majer, 1998 are provided.
References
- Bocakova, M., Constantin, R. & Bocak, L. (2012) Molecular phylogenetics of the melyrid lineage (Coleoptera: Cleroidea). Cladistics, 28, 117–129. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2011.00368.x
- Gimmel, M.L., Bocakova, M., Gunter, N.L. & Leschen, R.A.B. (2019) Comprehensive phylogeny of the Cleroidea (Coleoptera: Cucujiformia). Systematic Entomology, 44 (3), 527–558. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12338
- Liberti, G. (2019) The Aplocnemus Stephens, 1830, of Greece (Coleoptera, Cleroidea, Dasytidae). A contribution to their knowledge. Natural History Sciences. Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, 6 (1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.4081/nhs.2019.389
- Majer, K. (1987) Comparative morphology and proposed major taxonomy of the family Melyridae (Insecta, Coleoptera). Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne, 56, 719–859.
- Majer, K. (1994) A review of the classification of the Melyridae and related families (Coleoptera, Cleroidea). Entomologica Basiliensia, 17, 319–390.
- Majer, K. (1998) Rhadalinae from the Baltic amber (Coleoptera, Dasytidae). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 45 (2), 255–264.
- Mayor, A.J. (2007) Family Malachiidae Fleming, 1821. In: Löbl, I. & Smetana, A. (Eds), Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 4. Elateroidea, Derodontoidea, Bostrichoidea, Lymexyloidea, Cleroidea, Cucujoidea. Apollo Books, Stenstrup, Denmark, pp. 415–454.
- Plonski, I.S., Ivlev, K.S. & Tshernyshev, S.E. (2025) First record of an Anthocomus Erichson, 1840 larva (Coleoptera: Malachiidae) found inside a Megachile sp. nest (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) built in a Heracleum sosnowskyi Mandenova, 1944 stem (Apiaceae) from the Kurskaya Oblast, Russia. Euroasian Entomological Journal, 24 (2), 113–118. https://doi.org/10.15298/euroasentj.24.02.11
- Telnov, D. & Perkovsky, E.E. (2026) The first record of Salpingidae Leach, 1815 (Coleoptera) from Danish Eocene amber with description of a new extinct Istrisia Lewis, 1895. Ecologica Montenegrina, 98, 80–94. https://doi.org/10.37828/em.2026.98.7
- Telnov, D., Perkovsky, E.E., Kundrata, R., Kairišs, K., Vasilenko, D.V. & Bukejs, A. (2023) Revealing Palaeogene distribution of the Ptilodactylidae (Insecta: Coleoptera): the first Ptilodactyla Illiger, 1807 records from Rovno amber of Ukraine. Historical Biology, 35 (11), 2171–2180. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2022.2136034
- Tshernyshev, S.E. (2012) Aploceble (Chalcoaploceble) viridiaeneus Tshernyshev—new subgenus and species of dasytid beetles (Coleoptera, Dasytidae) in Baltic amber. Euroasian Entomological Journal, 11 (3), 212–218.
- Tshernyshev, S.E. (2016) New taxa of soft-winged flower beetles (Coleoptera, Malachiidae) in Baltic and Rovno amber. Paleontological Journal, 50 (9), 953–962. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030116090021
- Tshernyshev, S.E. (2019) New species of malachite beetles (Coleoptera, Dasytidae) in Baltic amber. Paleontological Journal, 53 (10), 1024–1035. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030119100022
- Tshernyshev, S.E. (2020) New taxa of soft-winged flower beetles (Coleoptera, Malachiidae) in Baltic amber. Paleontological Journal, 54 (3), 67–75. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030120030065
- Tshernyshev, S.E. (2021) A new genus and species of soft-winged flower beetle (Coleoptera: Malachiidae) from the Baltic amber. Paleontological Journal, 55 (1), 90–95. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030121010056
- Tshernyshev, S.E. & Legalov, A.A. (2023) First record of the family Malachiidae (Coleoptera: Cleroidea) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber with a description of Burmalachius acroantennatus gen. et spec. nov. Life, 13 (9), 1938, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/life13091938
- Tshernyshev, S.E. & Perkovsky, Е.E. (2021) Protomauroania mikhailovi—a new species of malachite beetles (Coleoptera, Dasytidae) in Rovno amber. Zootaxa, 5006 (1), 189–194. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5006.1.20
- Tshernyshev, S.E. & Shcherbakov, M.V. (2021) A new genus and species of malachite beetle (Coleoptera: Dasytidae) from the Baltic amber. Paleontological Journal, 55 (2), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.31857/S0031031X21020033
- Tshernyshev, S.E., Lyubarsky, G.Yu., Alekseev, V. & Bukejs, A. (2023) Diversity phenomenon of the Danaceinae malachite beetle subfamily (Coleoptera: Dasytidae) in Eocene Baltic amber with new description of an extinct genus and species. Diversity, 15 (10), 1077, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15101077
- Tshernyshev, S.E., Alekseev, V., Bukejs, A., Vasilenko, D.V., Legalov, A.A. & Perkovsky, E.E. (2025) First record of the family Melyridae (Coleoptera: Cleroidea) in late Eocene European ambers with description of a new tribe, a new genus and seven new species. Zootaxa, 5696 (4), 542–566. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5696.4.5
- Wolfe, J.A. (1975) Some aspects of plant geography of the northern Hemisphere during the Late Cretaceous and Tertiary. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 62, 264–279. https://doi.org/10.2307/2395198
