Baltosidis, 2021

Szawaryn, Karol, 2021, The first fossil Microweiseini (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from the Eocene of Europe and its significance for the reconstruction of the evolution of ladybird beetles, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 193, pp. 1294-1309 : 1300-1303

BALTOSIDIS DAMZENI SP. NOV.

( FIG. 3A–G )

Z o o b a n k r e g i s t r a t i o n: u r n: l s i d: z o o b a n k. org:act: A2F18452-6E52-41FB-86BB-3FB99A29D35B

Material examined: Holotype. MAIG no. 5988, donated by Jonas Damzen, FT-IR 9694 ( Fig. 5 ), female, no syn-inclusions. Paratypes. MAIG no. 5967, donated by Jonas Damzen, sex unknown, no syn-inclusions; MAIG no. 3687, donated by Tomasz Dębowski & Maciej Szulimowicz, 09.09.2000, sex unknown, syninclusions: Cantharidae 1, Hymenoptera 1; AWI-154, FT-IR 14954 ( Fig. 5 ), sex unknown, no syn-inclusions. Other material. MAIG no. 5985, sex unknown, no syn-inclusions.

Diagnosis: Baltosidis damzeni can be distinguished from other Baltosidis species by glabrous pronotum and elytra, abdominal postcoxal lines almost fused with accessory lines, but not forming distinctly closed v-shape. Ventral surface glabrous.

Description: Total length = 1.23–1.28 mm, total width = 0.80–0.86 mm. Body elongate oval ( Fig. 3A ). Head, pronotum and elytra glabrous ( Fig. 3C, G ). Pronotum covered with medium-sized, irregular punctures about same size as those on elytra. Metaventrite covered with small punctures separated by a distance of about 3–4× its diameter ( Fig. 3A ), punctures not associated with setae, without additional rows of large punctures anteriorly to hind coxae, metaventral postcoxal lines complete laterally, straight, discrimen visible in posterior half. Elytra covered with dense punctures of similar size as those on pronotum, irregularly distributed, punctures not associated with setae, sutural line present in apical third ( Fig. 3D ), elytral margin narrow. Elytral epipleuron punctate, glabrous, incomplete, reaching to posterior border of ventrite 3 ( Fig. 3A ). Wings well developed. Ventrite 1 as long as 2 and 3 combined, surface covered with punctures of smaller size than those on metaventrite, abdominal postcoxal lines reaching one-seventh of length of ventrite 1 at level of hind coxa, incomplete, accessory line distinctly curved, long, separated from postcoxal line only in apical part, not forming v-shape pattern ( Fig. 3G ). Ventrite 2 slightly longer than ventrite 3, ventrites 3 and 4 subequal in length, ventrite 5 large, rounded, about as long as ventrite 2. Ventrites 2–5 glabrous. Femora swollen, tibiae extended apically, tarsi tetramerous. Coxites of female genitalia can be observed in holotype (MAIG 5988) specimen: they are narrow, elongate, with one to two long setae attached to stylus ( Fig. 3A ).

Etymology: The specific epithet is dedicated to my friend Jonas Damzen (Vilnius, Lithuania) collector and donator of the type specimens to the MAIG.

Locality and horizon: Eocene, Baltic amber, Gulf of Gdańsk area (secondary deposit).

Figures

Figure 3. Baltosidis damzeni. A, habitus ventral. B, head, prosternum, mesoventrite. C, pronotum. D, tip of elytra with sutural lines. E, habitus lateral. F, details of maxillary palp. G, postcoxal lines on ventrite 1. Holotype, MAIG 5988 (A–E); paratype AWL 154 (F); paratype, MAIG 5967 (G).

Figure 5. FT-IR absorbance spectra of analysed amber pieces with the indication of museum inventory numbers above each spectrum.