Two new fossil species of soldier beetles (Coleoptera, Cantharidae, Malthininae) from Baltic amber

Abstract

Two new species of soldier beetles from the subfamily Malthininae—Malthinus masoni sp. nov. and Malthodes markpankowskii sp. nov.—are described from Baltic amber. Their discovery is yet more evidence of the remarkable number of Cantharidae in Europe during the Eocene. This diversity is likely the result of several forces, including the warmer climate that characterized the epoch as well as the wide variety of habitats where Baltic amber formed.

Six new species of fossil soldier beetles (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) from Eocene Baltic amber

“…Only three fossil species of Malthinus have been described so far, all from Baltic amber (Kuśka & Kania, 2010;Fanti & Damgaard, 2018;Pankowski & Fanti, 2022). Malthinus rifbjergi Fanti & Damgaard, 2018 and Malthinus danieli Kuśka & Kania, 2010 are the most similar to the new species described here, but they have the pronotum only narrower anteriorly (Kuśka & Kania, 2010;Fanti & Damgaard, 2018), where in Malthinus pauljohnsoni sp.…”

“…This exceptional biodiversity could be due to a number of factors, such as the Eocene's warmer temperatures, which may have favored speciation (Erwin, 2009). It also could be a result of the broad range of habitats where Baltic amber formed, including meadows, coastal lowland swamps and angiosperm-conifer forests (Sadowski, 2017;Parisi & Fanti, 2020;Pankowski & Fanti, 2022).…”

“…Three of these genera have living representatives: Malthinus Latreille, 1806; Malthodes Kiesenwetter, 1852 and Podistra Motschulsky, 1839. Hundreds of Malthinus are alive today primarily in the Holarctic region, with a smaller number of species in the Oriental and Neotropical regions (Švihla, 2009;Pankowski & Fanti, 2022). In the fossil record, Malthinus species have been found only in Baltic amber (Kuśka & Kania, 2010;Fanti, 2017a;Fanti & Damgaard, 2018;Pankowski & Fanti, 2022).…”

“…Hundreds of Malthinus are alive today primarily in the Holarctic region, with a smaller number of species in the Oriental and Neotropical regions (Švihla, 2009;Pankowski & Fanti, 2022). In the fossil record, Malthinus species have been found only in Baltic amber (Kuśka & Kania, 2010;Fanti, 2017a;Fanti & Damgaard, 2018;Pankowski & Fanti, 2022). Another extant genus, Malthodes, has over 600 species living in Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America (Delkeskamp, 1977;Kazantsev & Brancucci, 2007;Fanti & M.K.…”

First Record of the Genus Cartorhynchites Voss, 1958 (Coleoptera: Rhynchitidae) from Eocene Baltic Amber with a List of Fossil Tooth-Nosed Snout Weevils

“…Studies of the fossil Coleoptera fauna in Baltic amber have been particularly intensive in the last decade. An especially large amount of material has been processed, or sufficient study progress has been made for such beetle groups as, for example, the predatory Cantharidae [ 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 ] and Coccinellidae [ 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 ], as well as the herbivorous Cerambycidae [ 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 ]. New descriptions of species and genera have significantly added to the picture of the fossil beetle assemblage in the Fennosarmatian lan...…”