A New Genus of Short-Winged Flower Beetles with an Enlarged Antennal Scape in Mid-Cretaceous Amber from Northern Myanmar (Coleoptera: Kateretidae)

Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Integrated phylogenomics and fossil data illuminate the evolution of beetles

Chenyang Cai et al.

Summary: Beetles are the most biodiverse animal order, and this study uses phylogenomic techniques to propose new classification changes and analyze the origin and divergence time of beetles, finding differences from previous hypotheses.

ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE (2022)

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Article Geology

Pelretes bicolor sp. nov., a new short-winged flower beetle (Coleoptera: Kateretidae) from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar

Qian Zhao et al.

Summary: This article reports a new fossil species, Pelretes bicolor sp. nov., found in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber in northern Myanmar. The main distinguishing feature of this new species is the presence of a dull trapezoidal mark and 9 parallel punctate grooves on each elytron, which sets it apart from the type species Pelretes vivificus.

CRETACEOUS RESEARCH (2022)

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Article Entomology

Application of confocal laser scanning microscopy to the study of amber bioinclusions

Yan-Zhe Fu et al.

Summary: Confocal laser scanning microscopy is an essential tool in the study of amber bioinclusions, providing valuable and detailed morphological information. It offers advantages such as enhanced signal to noise ratios, resolution power, capability of optical sectioning, and better performance when imaging thicker samples compared to other commonly used imaging methods in the field.

PALAEOENTOMOLOGY (2021)

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Article Plant Sciences

Angiosperm pollinivory in a Cretaceous beetle

Erik Tihelka et al.

Summary: An exceptionally preserved short-winged flower beetle fossil provides evidence of pollen-feeding activities in a Cretaceous beetle, confirming diverse beetle lineages visited early angiosperms. The identification of Tricolpopollenites pollen grains suggests potentially diverse beetle lineages visited early angiosperms by the mid-Cretaceous. This fossil offers some of the earliest clues to the origins of angiosperm pollination.

NATURE PLANTS (2021)

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Article Geology