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Issue: Vol. 4859 No. 3: 7 Oct. 2020
Type: Article
Published: 2020-10-07
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4859.3.5
Page range: 397–408
Abstract views: 117
PDF downloaded: 8

Groehnaltica batophiloides, a new genus and species of flea-beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from Baltic amber, described using X-ray microtomography

Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies, Daugavpils University, Vienîbas Str. 13, Daugavpils, Latvia.
Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum,1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.
Department of Health, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 Coppito-L’Aquila, Italy.
Coleoptera paleontology Alticini Galerucinae fossil insect Eocene X-ray micro-CT

Abstract

Based on a well-preserved specimen from Eocene Baltic amber, Groehnaltica batophiloides gen. nov. and sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini) is described and illustrated using X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT). The new monotypic genus is compared with fossil and extant flea-beetle genera. In the extant Eurasian fauna Groehnaltica shows most similarity to Batophila Foudras, 1859. However, it is also similiar to a Palaeotropical group of genera, including Bikasha Maulik, 1931, and Lanka Maulik, 1926. Groehnaltica batophiloides is the tenth member of Alticini to be described from Baltic amber, adding to our understanding of the evolutionary history of this diverse group of beetles.

 

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