The fossil record of Mesozoic and Tertiary Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera : Polyphaga)

Abstract

Lack of characters, similarity of stem species of adelphotaxa and the necessity to know the extant world fauna of the studied group of fossils are the main difficulties in palaeontology of beetles. The paucity of characters of most of the fossils of supposed Scarabaeoidea prevents their inclusion in a reliable phylogenetic analysis. Only rarely can an autapomorphy of Scarabaeoidea be seen in a fossil classified as a member of this group. Therefore, the classification of Mesozoic and Tertiary fossils is often tentative. Based on a critical literature review of all recorded fossil Scarabaeoidea from the Mesozoic and Tertiary, the minimum age for families and/or subfamilies of this group is determined. An annotated catalogue of named fossils and ichnofossils of Scarabaeoidea and of their lagerstÄtten is given. 238 fossil species and subspecies of this group have been described, of which 27 are doubtful, eight already identified as belonging to other taxa, and two subspecies synonymised with extant taxa. 189 species and 12 ichnospecies probably or reliably belong to the Scarabaeoidea. Nomenclatural acts: Hongscarabaeus, nom. nov. for Proscarabaeus Hong, 1982 (nec Schrank, 1781); Onthophagus urusheeri, nom. nov. for Onthophagus urus Heer, 1847 (nec Ménétries, 1832); Aphodius anteactus, nom. nov. for Aphodius antiquus Heer, 1847 (nec Faldermann, 1835); Aphodius theobaldi, nom. nov. for Aphodius incertus Théobald, 1937 (nec Ballion, 1878); Anomala palaeobrunnea, nom. nov. for Anomala brunnea (Hong, 1985) (nec Klug, 1855); Eophyllocerus scrobiculatus Haupt, 1950 is designated as the type species of Eophyllocerus Haupt, 1950; Cangabola Lengerken, 1955 is a junior synonym of Coprinisphaera Sauer, 1955. ‘Mais en présence des Coléoptères, sauf très rares exeptions, tout spécialiste sérieux ne peut que se récuser’. R. Jeannel (1942: 191) on fossil faunas.

Did dinosaurs have any relation with dung‐beetles? (The origin of coprophagy)

“…While dinosaurs are known since Triassic, Scarabeids are present in the fossil record only since Upper Jurassic of Karatau, Kazakhstan (Krell 2000(Krell , 2006Scholtz 1990) but features that could be interpreted as adaptations for coprophagy are ambiguous. Indeed coprophagy traces are known in vertebrate coprolites (not only dinosaurs) since the Triassic, so they could not be attributed to Scarabaeidae but probably to Diptera larvae (Wahl et al 1998).…”

Neoichnological Experiments With Masked Chafer Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae): Implications for Backfilled Continental Trace Fossils

“…The oldest body fossils attributed to Scarabaeoidea are from the Late Jurassic, the oldest Scarabaeidae are Early Cretaceous, and the earliest fossils from the subfamily Dynastinae are found in the Eocene (Krell, 2000(Krell, , 2006.…”

New fossil evidence of the early diversification of scarabs:Alloioscarabaeus cheni(Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China

“…Crowson (1981) presumed that it is a scarabaeid, but since the remains lack all appendages and the posterior part of elytra and abdomen, there is no real evidence enabling it to be classified in the Scarabaeoidea. A ‘ Melolontha ?’ described from the Lower Jurassic of England (Brodie, 1845) based on a fossil resembling the outline of the pygidium of some extant species of Melolontha , is so incomplete so that we cannot even be sure it is an insect (Krell, 2000). Although Ponomarenko (Ponomarenko, 1995) gave the minimum age for Scarabaeoidea as the Middle Jurassic, the fossil record of this era is even less promising.…”

“…Many studies on the phylogeny of some extant families, subfamilies or tribes of Scarabaeoidea from some areas of the world have been inferred (Browne & Scholtz, 1995; Browne & Scholtz, 1999; Holloway, 1960; Hunt et al ., 2007; McKenna & Farrell, 2009; Ocampo, 2006; Reyes‐Castillo, 1970; Scholtz, 1986; Scholtz & Browne, 1996). Since there seems lacking convincing evidence that any Jurassic fossil so far known belongs to the Scarabaeoidea (Krell, 2000; Scholtz & Grebennikov, 2005), there is the current opinion that most scarab families may have originated in the Cretaceous (Krell, 2000; McKenna & Farrell, 2009). Since no study on the phylogeny of extant and extinct Scarabaeoidea has been done so far, the divergence times of most scarab families remain widely uncertain (McKenna & Farrell, 2009).…”