Abstract Discussion - The Coleopterists Society

The Coleopterists Bulletin, 53(4):321-323. 1999.
C. L. BELLAMY'
Coleoptera Department
Transvaal Museum
PO. Box 413
Pretoria 0001, South Africa
Abstract
The first species of Buprestidae from Dominican amber is described as Chrysobothris
amberestris, new species. A short discussion of fossil buprestids is presented.
Examples and specimens of the beetle family Buprestidae from amber deposits were recently reviewed by Bellamy (1995). Subsequent to that paper, I
received an invitation to study a buprestid from Dominican amber from David
Grimaldi, Department of Entomology, American Museum of Natural History,
New York (AMNH).
Discussion
The following description will obviously lack some detail due to the specimen being imbedded in amber. The unique nature of this specimen and relatively thin layer of amber surrounding some areas made it inadvisible to attempt a better view or perspective by sectioning or otherwise removing more
of the amber enclosure (Grimaldi 1993).
Chrysobothris amberestris, new species
Fig. 1
Description. Small, 12.8 mm long, 5.5 mm wide; elongate ovoid, flattened above and
below; short, semi-erect setae visible on frontovertex; large eyes strongly converging
dorsally; antennae typical of Chrysobothris Eschscholtz with scape elongate, robust,
pedicle shorter, narrower; antennomeres: 3 slender, elongate; 4-10 trapezoidally serrate;
11 oblong; pronotum about 2 X wider than long, anterior margin evenly, shallowly concave; posterior margin strongly biarcuate; lateral margin irregular, bisinuate; posterolatera1 angles subobtuse; disk appears more or less evenly transverse. Elytra wider opposite
humeri than pronotal width; disk depressed basally on either side between humerus and
scutellum; disk otherwise uniform although an indication of longitudinal carinae present;
lateral margins subparallel from past opposite humeri to about posterior 45, thereafter
moderately converging to separately acuminate apices; margin entire, not serrulate. Ventral surface largely obscured under folded legs and trapped air bubbles and dirt particles.
Legs with femora stoutly fusiform, tarsomeres lack anterolateral projections of Actenodes.
Specimens Examined. Holotype (sex unknown) (ANMH No. DR- 14-263)
AMBER: Oligo-Miocene, Dominican Republic, North Mines.
Remarks. The lack of any apical emargination to the fifth visible abdominal
sternum suggests that the holotype is a female.
e-mail: bellamy @tm.up.ac,za, http:Nwww-tm.up.ac.za/coleop/bups.htm
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THE COLEOPTERISTS BULLETIN 53(4), 1999
Fig. 1. Dorsal view, Clz~-\.,sohothri.tnmberestris, new species.
Although many fossil buprestids are known from many parts of the world
and geologic deposits (e.g., Hornschemeyer and Wedmann 1994; Weidlich
1987~1,b; Wedmann and Hornschemeyer 1994), I have found records for only
four species of fossil Chrysohothris Eschscholtz, C. coloradensis Wickham
(1914:441),C. gahani Cockerel1 (191 1:72),C. haydeni Scudder (1876:80),and
C. suppressa Wickham (1914:440). All four of these species are known from
the Miocene Florissant shale deposits of Colorado and were last discussed by
Wickham (1920). Dominican amber is older than the Colorado deposits (Grimaldi 1995).
Most species of extant Chrysoborhris are found on the foliage, stems or
trunks of their respective host plants, both conifers and angiosperms, often on
the dead or decadent portions or on slash. They are active during warmer parts
of the day and quick to fly to avoid predators or collectors or to disperse to
locate food or mates. This can explain why this fossil species was probably
trapped in the sap of the plant it may have been associated with.
Acknowledgments
I thank David Grimaldi and Caroline Chabo, AMNH, for the opportunity to
study this specimen and for providing the photograph and to two anonymous
reviewers for insightful comments.
Literature Cited
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The Coleopterists Bulletin 49(2): 175-1 77.
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Grimaldi, D. A. 1993. The care and study of fossiliferous amber. Curator 36(1):31-48.
Grimaldi, D. A. 1995. Chapter 11. The age of Dominican Amber [pp. 203-2171, In:
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W. Leng, editor). Mount Vernon, NY. 470 pp.
(Received 3 November 1998; accepted 3 March 1999)