The oldest known clerid fossils from theMiddleJurassic ofChina, with a review ofCleridae systematics (Coleoptera)

Abstract

Abstract. Three fossil beetles recorded from Inner Mongolia, China (Callovian, Middle Jurassic, approximately 165 Ma) are assigned to Cleridae and constitute the earliest known representatives of this family. Two of the fossils are described as Protoclerus korynetoides gen. et sp.n. and the third as Wangweiella calloviana gen. et sp.n. Ninety‐six morphological characters of the larvae and adults of 17 extant clerid representatives and seven cleroid families as outgroups were analysed under maximum parsimony with, and without, fossil species included in the matrix. The results indicate that Protoclerus gen.n. is a separate lineage within the family, whereas Wangweiella gen.n. is sister to the rest of Epiclininae. The resulting trees are compared with the most recent morphological and molecular phylogenies of Cleridae. The trees presented appear congruent with the latest molecular phylogenies. The evolution of Cleridae, as well as their biogeography and systematics, are briefly reviewed. A complete list of clerid fossil species described to date is provided. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:32240D3D-2A7A-41F6-B485-A66F2265CB8A.

Comprehensive phylogeny of the Cleroidea (Coleoptera: Cucujiformia)

“…All other subfamilies of Opitz () in our analysis, the analyses of Gunter et al . () and Kolibáč & Huang (), were recovered as polyphyletic, thus supporting the classification corresponding to the Korynetinae sensu lato of Kolibáč (, , ) which groups all clerids with a reduced fourth tarsomere. We considered synonymizing Epiclininae, recently described by Gunter et al .…”

“…() dated the ancestor of Cleroidea near the Permian‐Triassic boundary (around 250 Ma). Fossil evidence for many cleroid groups date to mid‐Jurassic, including Lophocaterinae (or Decamerini) (Peris et al ., ; Yu et al ., , ), Prionoceridae (Liu et al ., ), Thanerocleridae (Yu et al ., ) and Cleridae (Kolibáč & Huang, ), but as yet no ancient Melyridae fossils have been described. These data, together with branching sequences in our work and previous studies, suggest that the more primitive cleroids were mainly fungus‐feeding, like other large groups of Coleoptera (Leschen & Buckley, ), and predatory followed by later shifts to flower‐feeding, especially in Melyridae.…”

A Mitochondrial Genome Phylogeny of Cleridae (Coleoptera, Cleroidea)

“…Except the differences in higher classification, the phylogenetic relationships within the Cleridae are relatively incongruent. The subfamilial relationships are recovered as Korynetinae + (Hydnocerinae + Clerinae + Tillinae) [19] or Thaneroclerinae +((Tillinae + (Korynetinae + Epiclininae) +(Hydnocerinae + Clerinae))) on the morphological evidence [23], or (Korynetinae + Epiclininae) + ((Thaneroclerinae + Tillinae) + (Hydnocerinae + Clerinae)) if fossil evidence added [23], or Tillinae + ((Thaneroclerinae + Korynetinae + Epiclininae) + (Hydnocerinae + Clerinae)) [3] or Tillinae + ((Korynetinae + Epiclininae) + (Hydnocerinae + Clerinae)) [24,25] on the molecular data. It was argued that, the morphology-based analyses are weighted towards the characters used as taxonomic discriminators between lineages and do not provide an unbiased assessment of the phylognetic relationships [3].…”

Catalogue and composition of fossil Anthicidae and Ischaliidae (Insecta: Coleoptera)

“…Tarsal claws as depicted on figure 130 in the original description are basally denticulate. Kolibáč and Huang (2016) proposed new placement for this species in Anthicidae considering "… the shape of the antennomeres and structure of the tarsi". This proposal should be considered poorly justified since none of significant features of the Anthicidae and its subfamilies were assessed by the aforementioned two authors.…”