Sanaungulus lethi, Fanti & Damgaard, 2020

Fanti, Fabrizio & Damgaard, Anders Leth, 2020, Fossil soldier beetles of the Anders Damgaard amber collection. Fourth update, Baltic Journal of Coleopterology 20 (2), pp. 125-139 : 132-135

Sanaungulus lethi sp. nov.

( Figs. 9 - 10 )

Holotype. Probably male, in Burmese amber, accession No. ALDC0570 /ALD.Bu.213

Type locality. Myanmar: Kachin state, Myitkyina District, Tanai Township, Hukawng Valley .

Type horizon. Lowermost Cenomanian (98.79 ± 0.62 Ma), mid-Cretaceous.

Differential diagnosis. Only Sanaungulus fabriciusi Fanti & Damgaard, 2019 has antennomeres III-IX equipped with long rami but the new species here described has different pronotal shape ( Fanti & Damgaard 2019). The genus Burmomiles Fanti, Damgaard & Ellenberger, 2018 has the same number of rami but has longer and wider elytra, the shorter legs and roundish head (Fanti et al. 2018; Fanti & Damgaard 2019).

Description. Adult, winged, slender. Probably male, defined on the basis of the last ventrite triangular-shaped. Body length about 3.0 mm. Entirely brown with darker head (dark brown-reddish).

Head transverse, constricted and triangular-shaped behind the eyes, fitted with shallow punctuation. Eyes prominent, very large, roundish, inserted in the lateral part of the head, inter-ocular dorsal distance about 3.1 times greater than the eye diameter. Mandibles elongated and thin. Maxillary palps 4-segmented with the last palpomere slightly securiform and rather rounded. Labial palps 3-segmented, with the last palpomere slightly securiform. Antennae 11-segmented, pectinate, rather short, slightly surpassing the half of the elytra and reaching half of the abdomen, antennal insertion in the eyes proximity; scape stout, rather short, club-shaped; antennomere II about 2.2 times shorter than scape; antennomeres III-IX longer than second and each equipped with a thin, cylindrical, long and rounded at apex antennal process inserted in the ventral-apical part; antennomeres X-XI filiform with the XI which is slightly pointed at apex; all antennomeres very slightly pubescent. Pronotum transverse, wider than head, anterior margin strongly rounded and slightly bordered, posterior margin almost straight and strongly bordered, sides slightly rounded, posterior corners obtuse, pronotum disc smooth and lustrous. Scutellum triangular-shaped, rounded at apex. Elytra short which reveals various abdominal segments, as wide as the pronotum in the humeral zone and narrower posteriorly, elytra deiescent, rounded apexes, surface with punctures very slightly in relief and apparently arranged in six longitudinal striae. Posterior wings transparent and slightly surpassing the elytra. Sternum elongated and rounded posteriorly, ventrites large and transverse, last tergite triangular-shaped, last ventrite small and triangular with rounded apex. Legs thin, long, covered with pubescence; coxae massive; trochanters elongated, with rounded apex; femora curved, flattened, more robust than tibiae; tibiae thin, approximately as long as femora, with a spur near the apex. Tarsal formula 5-5-5; first tarsomere extremely long; second tarsomere shorter than first (metatarsomere II about 1.9 times shorter than metatarsomere I); third tarsomere shorter than the previous one; fourth strongly bilobed; fifth tarsomere elongated, thin, flat; claws simple, with a very small and obtuse denticle at the base.

Etymology. Named in honor of the Danish inventor, exhibition designer and engineer Henrik Bangshøj Leth. Among other things, he has been a key figure in the construction of the new Danish amber exhibition at GeoCenter MønsKlint in 2020.

Syninclusions. Air bubbles and few botanical remains.

Remarks. The small amber piece measures approximately 12 x 7 mm and the surface has some fractures. The inclusion is complete.

Figures

Fig. 9. Sanaungulus lethi sp. nov. ALDC0570/ALD.Bu.213 in Burmese amber. A: Holotype, dorsal view, bar = 0.5 mm; B: Holotype, ventral view, bar = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 10. Sanaungulus lethi sp. nov.ALDC0570/ALD.Bu.213 in Burmese amber.A: Holotype, detail of head and pronotum, bar = 0.2 mm; B: Holotype, detail of antenna and metasternum, bar = 0.5 mm; C: Holotype, detail of elytral apex, bar = 0.2 mm; D: Holotype, detail of last ventrites, bar = 0.2 mm.