Amelyrini Tshernyshev, Alekseev, Bukejs, Vasilenko, Legalov

Tshernyshev, Sergei E., Alekseev, Vitalii, Bukejs, Andris, Vasilenko, Dmitry V., Legalov, Andrej A. & Perkovsky, Evgeny E., 2025, First record of the family Melyridae (Coleoptera: Cleroidea) in late Eocene European ambers with description of a new tribe, a new genus and seven new species, Zootaxa 5696 (4), pp. 542-566 : 545

Tribe Amelyrini Tshernyshev, Alekseev, Bukejs, Vasilenko, Legalov & Perkovsky, trib. nov.

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Type genus: Amelyris Tshernyshev, Alekseev, Bukejs, Vasilenko, Legalov & Perkovsky, gen. nov., by present designation

Diagnosis. Small beetles, 2.5–3.8 mm in length, characterized by the following combination of features: (1) head prognathous, small, rounded; (2) pronotum with lateral carinae; (3) elytra with longitudinal carinae and three regular rows of punctures between them, whereas humeri exhibiting an additional fine carina; (4) abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 connate; (5) antennal club friable (symmetrical or asymmetrical), composed of finely articulated segments; and (6) tarsi with tarsomere 1 distinctly reduced.

Differential diagnosis. Representatives of Amelyrini trib. nov. are superficially similar to the species of Melyris or Falsomelyris ( Melyrini ), but can be distinguished in smaller body size ( 2.5–3.8 mm vs. 7–9 mm in Melyrini ), in prognathous convex head (in contrast to orthognathous non-convex head in Melyrini ), in pronotum with lateral carinae (vs. lateral margins lacking carinae or bearing a single longitudinal carina near the margin, e.g., in Melyris rufomarginatus ), in elytral intercarinal spaces with three regular puncture rows (vs. irregular 3–4 rows in Melyrini ), in abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 connate (in contrast to freely articulated in Melyrini ), and in humeri with a distinct carina (vs. absent in Melyrini ).

Etymology. The tribe Amelyrini trib. nov. is named after the nominative genus Amelyris gen. nov., whose etymology is presented below.