Palaeoentomology

Archistrophus filicornis gen. et sp. nov., a new polypore fungus beetle (Coleoptera, Tetratomidae) from the Cretaceous Kachin amber

2025-06-12T14:45:34+12:00

The family Tetratomidae Billberg, 1820 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea), commonly known as polypore fungus beetles, primarily feed on fresh or decaying fruiting bodies of various fungi (Lawrence & Leschen, 2010; Hsiao et al., 2018; Hsiao, 2020). Adults of this family are nocturnal and are typically found in forest habitats, associated with coarse woody debris (Pollock, 2008, 2012; Hsiao et al., 2018).

Marine ostracods found in lacustrine deposits of the Qaidam Basin suggest long-distance dispersal during the Pleistocene

2025-09-17T17:46:28+12:00

The marine ostracod species Bicornucythere bisanensis s.l. (Okubo, 1975) and Pistocythereis bradyformis (Ishizaki, 1968) have been identified in Pleistocene lacustrine deposits within the Qaidam Basin. These were previously misclassified as the freshwater species Cytherissa qaidamensis Yang & Lu (in Yang et al., 2020). Typically, both fossil and modern occurrences of these marine ostracod species are limited to coastal regions of the West Pacific Ocean, spanning roughly from 20°N to 43°N. The presence of B. bisanensis s.l. and P. bradyformis fossils in the Qaidam Basin suggests the possibility of long-distance dispersal of these marine ostracods by migrating water birds from the West Pacific coastal areas to the Qaidam palaeo-lake during the Pleistocene, a distance of over 2,000 kilometers and crossing a vast continental stretch. Furthermore, this discovery may also suggest that the East Asian Flyway or East Asia/Australasia Flyway was already in existence by the Pleistocene.

**A new species of the Recent genus Amblyomma (Parasitiformes: Ixodidae) discovered in Dominican amber**

2025-10-07T00:55:36+13:00

Two new fossil hard ticks (Arachnida: Ixodida: Ixodidae) from Dominican amber (Miocene, probably Burdigalian, ca. 16 Ma) are described. An almost fully engorged female and a partly engorged larva were documented by combining light microscopy with high-resolution µCT-scans at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) and 3D modelling of the data. Images of the fossils created from these 3D models facilitated comparisons with living ticks and the new material can be assigned to the Recent genus Amblyomma C.L. Koch, 1844 as Amblyomma arawakan Chitimia-Dobler & Martins sp. nov. The new amber species appears to be most closely related to the extant New World tick Amblyomma auricularium Conil, 1878. Possible hosts for the fossils are discussed within the wider context of their historical biogeography.