Cantharis (Cyrtomoptila) mikkelsenorum, Fanti & Damgaard, 2018

Fanti, Fabrizio & Damgaard, Anders Leth, 2018, Fossil soldier beetles from Baltic amber of the Anders Damgaard amber collection (Coleoptera Cantharidae), Baltic Journal of Coleopterology 18 (1), pp. 1-32 : 11-12

Cantharis (Cyrtomoptila) mikkelsenorum n.

sp.

( Figs. 7 - 8 )

Holotype. Male, in Baltic amber, accession No. ALDC0388 /ALD. Ba.Can. 13

Type locality. Russia, Kaliningrad Region, Sambian Peninsula, amber quarry near Yantarny (previously known as Palmnicken).

Type horizon. Middle Eocene (Lutetian) (47.8- 41.2 MY) to Late Eocene (Priabonian) (37.8- 33.9 MY).

Differential diagnosis. Cantharis mikkelsenorum n. sp. is characterised by the last palpomere elongated and little securiform, pronotum transverse subrectangular with sinuous lateral margins and with ripples in the middle. The other Cantharis in Baltic amber - Cantharis (s. str.) sucinonigra Kuśka, 1992 and C. (Cyrtomoptila) sucinokotejai ( Kuśka, 1996) - are much smaller (6 mm) and show different coloration and pronotal shape ( Kuśka 1992, 1996; Kazantsev 2013). Other remains of fossil Cantharis , known at an undetermined level, come from Baltic amber, Randecker Maar ( Germany) and Puy-Saint-Jean near ClermontFerrand ( France), with other extant species from th e Pleistocene of th e Un ited Kin gdom. Furthermore, other species have been described from the Early Miocene of Radoboj in Croatia, the Upper-Middle Miocene of Oeningen in Germany, and the Oligocene of Rott (Siebengebirge) in Germany ( Fanti 2017a).

Description. Adult, winged, flattened. Male, defined on the basis of the shape of last sternite, which is short and vaguely triangular, and for the aedeagus in part visible. Body length 10.5 mm (prothorax to abdomen 8 mm, head ~ 2.5 mm). Entirely blackish-dark brown with reddishbrownish legs. Head almost completely exposed, covered with numerous small granules and with long setae on the forehead. Eyes very large, rounded and strongly convex. Mandibles long, black, without tooth and very sharp at apex. Maxillary palps with the last segment elongated, cylindrical, slightly enlarged in the lower part and rounded at apex. Antennae inserted very near and in the upper part of the eyes, 11-segmented, short and not surpassing the elytral half, filiform, with thick interspersed setae and other longer; scape long, cylindrical, narrowed from middle to the base; pedicel short, one-third as long as scape; antennomeres III-IV cylindrical feebly inflated, as long as scape, antennomeres V-XI filiform subequal in length and very long. Pronotum transverse, subrectangular, equipped with a short pubescence and with blows, ripples in the middle, with the reflanged basal margin and sinuous lateral margins. Scutellum reddish-brown, triangular with roundish base and pointed apex. Elytra wider than pronotum, long, surpassing the last abdominal segments, covered by numerous setae, parallel-sided and with rounded apex. Posterior wings dark and folded between the tergites and elytra. Sternum and abdominal segments dark-brown; last tergite large and rounded; last sternite small, vaguely triangular. Legs covered with pubescence; coxae short and massive; trochanters triangular; femora enlarged, particularly the metafemora which are also curved; pro- and mesotibiae thin and cylindrical, ~1.5 times as long as femora; metatibiae elongated, ~1.7 times as long as metafemora. Tarsi 5-segmented equipped with setae; first segment slightly elongated and enlarged; second 0.7 times as long as the first; third evidently bilobed at sides; fourth segment triangular inverted with the tip toward the third segment; fifth thin and elongated; claws simple without tooth at the base. Aedeagus extruded in part.

Etymology. This new species is named in honour of the Danish actors Lars Dittmann Mikkelsen and Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen, in recognition of their contribution to the television, theatre and film industries.

Syninclusions. Wood remains (of which two are wooden frustules), stellate trichomes, pyrite, mite.

Remarks. The amber piece, with almost semicircular shape, measures approximately 24 x 17 x 5.5 mm. The new species herein described is inserted in the subgenus Cyrtomoptila for the claws simple ( Fig. 8 ), without tooth at the base (in males, however, the tooth tend to be very small but present, though sometimes missing). The rounded remains visible at the apex of the fifth tarsomere and on the dorsal part of the claw are probably wood fragments.

Figures

Fig. 7. Cantharis (Cyrtomoptila) mikkelsenorum n. sp. in Baltic amber. A: Holotype, dorsal view, bar = 1.0 mm; B: Holotype, ventral view, bar = 1.0 mm; C: Holotype, lateral view, bar = 1.0 mm; D: Holotype, detail of elytra, bar = 1.0 mm.

Fig. 8. Cantharis (Cyrtomoptila) mikkelsenorum n. sp. in Baltic amber. Holotype, detail of claws, bar = 400 μm.