Cantharis (Cantharis) michaeli FANTI & M. G. PANKOWSKI, 2023

Fanti, Fabrizio & Pankowski, Maximilian G., 2023, The first species of Cantharis from Ukrainian Rovno amber (Coleoptera, Cantharidae), Zootaxa 5323 (2), pp. 293-297 : 294-295

Cantharis (Cantharis) michaeli FANTI & M. G. PANKOWSKI sp. nov.

( Fig. 1 )

Description. Female, based on short antennae, penultimate sternite wide, and last sternite small and rounded. Body length: about 9 mm. Body entirely dark brown.

Head partially covered by pronotum, wide, transverse, wrinkled, with shallow punctuation. Eyes large, convex, prominent, located in upper lateral part of the head. Mandibles elongate, robust, falciform, without any tooth. Maxillary palpi 4-segmented, with the last palpomere securiform. Labial palpi 3-segmented. Antennae 11-segmented, short, reaching to about half of elytra, filiform, pubescent and adorned with sparse setae; scape very robust, club-shaped; antennomere II short, about 1.2–1.3 times shorter than scape; antennomere III filiform, elongate, about 1.1–1.2 times longer than second; antennomeres IV–VII subequal, slightly longer than antennomere III; antennomere VIII very slightly shorter and more slender than previous ones; antennomeres IX–X subequal, slightly shorter than previous one; antennomere XI long, slender, rounded at apex. Pronotum transverse, wider than head, equipped with scattered and long setae, anterior margin rounded slightly bordered, sides straight and bordered, posterior margin almost straight and strongly bordered, surface not flat and convex in the middle, anterior corners rounded, posterior corners very slightly pointed. Scutellar shield triangular with rounded apex, slightly pubescent. Elytra wider than pronotum, elongate, not covering the last abdominal segment, parallel-sided, equipped with sparse and very long setae, rounded at apex, surface smooth. Hind wings longer than elytra, infuscate. Sternum elongate, convex posteriorly, with pubescence. Abdominal ventrites transverse, equipped with very sparse and rather long setae, penultimate sternite wide and rounded, ultimate sternite and tergite very small and rounded. Legs covered with long pubescence, rather long and robust; coxae robust and rounded; trochanters very small, pointed apically; femora cylindrical and slightly compressed, rather straight; pro- and mesotibiae shorter than pro- and mesofemora, metatibiae as long as metafemora, tibiae curved and cylindrical with an evident spur at apex that is thin, pointed, and slightly curved. Tarsi 5-segmented, equipped with long setae; first tarsomere elongate, very robust; second tarsomere shorter than first tarsomere; tarsomere III slightly shorter than second, rather lobed at sides; tarsomere IV strongly bilobed; tarsomere V thin and elongate; claws simple with a small and obtuse basal tooth.

Etymology. Species named in honor of Michael Pankowski, older brother of the second author who inspired him to improve each day in mind, body, and spirit.

Holotype. Female, inclusion in Rovno amber, housed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, USNM PAL 787822 . Type locality. Ukraine, Rivne Oblast (Rovno province), mine unknown .

Type horizon. Upper Eocene, Priabonian stage (33.9–37.71 Mya).

Syninclusions. Air bubbles, stellate hairs, and botanical remains.

Systematic placement. The securiform last maxillary palpomere, filiform 11-segmented antennae, the pronotum without lateral lobes or teeth, third bilobed tarsomere, and the claws simple with a basal obtuse tooth reliably place the new species in the genus Cantharis and its nominotypical subgenus ( Brancucci 1980; Constantin 2014).

Differential diagnosis. No Cantharis has been documented from Rovno amber until this discovery. Ten species of Cantharis are known from Baltic amber (Fanti 2017; Fanti & Pankowski 2020), two as compression fossils from the Oligocene of Enspel, Germany ( Fanti & Poschmann 2019), and seven from the Oligocene of Rott, Germany ( Heyden & Heyden 1866; Fanti 2017; Fanti & Walker 2019). Furthermore, two species from the Miocene deposit of Oeningen, Germany, and one taxon from the Miocene deposit of Radoboj, Croatia ( Heer 1847, 1865; Fanti 2017), are known.

Among all these, the species most similar to Cantharis michaeli sp. nov. is Cantharis raeorum Fanti & M. G. Pankowski, 2020 . C. raeorum differs based on its smaller size at 5.8 mm, longer antennae, the second antennomere shorter and more globular, and its pronotum that is less convex in the middle ( Fanti & Pankowski 2020).

Remarks. The piece of greenish yellow amber, shaped like a drop, measures approximately 40x22x 8 mm. The inclusion is complete. The surface of the piece has some oxidation.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Cantharis (Cantharis) michaeli sp. nov. in Rovno amber (USNM PAL 787822). A: Holotype, dorsal view, scale bar = 1.0 mm; B: Holotype, lateral view, scale bar = 1.0 mm; C: Holotype, detail of head and pronotum (lateral view), scale bar = 0.5 mm; D: Holotype, detail of last abdominal segments (lateral view), scale bar = 0.5 mm.