Unlocking the mystery of the mid-Cretaceous Mysteriomorphidae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) and modalities in transiting from gymnosperms to angiosperms

Abstract

The monospecific family Mysteriomorphidae was recently described based on two fossil specimens from the Late Cretaceous Kachin amber of northern Myanmar. The family was placed in Elateriformia incertae sedis without a clear list of characters that define it either in Elateroidea or in Byrrhoidea. We report here four additional adult specimens of the same lineage, one of which was described using a successful reconstruction from a CT-scan analysis to better observe some characters. The new specimens enabled us to considerably improve the diagnosis of Mysteriomorphidae. The family is definitively placed in Elateroidea, and we hypothesize its close relationship with Elateridae. Similarly, there are other fossil families of beetles that are exclusively described from Cretaceous ambers. These lineages may have been evolutionarily replaced by the ecological revolution launched by angiosperms that introduced new co-associations with taxa. These data indicate a macroevolutionary pattern of replacement that could be extended to other insect groups.

The Fossil Record of Elateridae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea): Described Species, Current Problems and Future Prospects

“…However, Cretopoena clearly differs from Agrypnini by its closed pronotosternal sutures and, therefore, its systematic position should be further investigated. Additionally, the suggested close relationship between Elateridae and recently discovered Mysteriomorphidae from the Cretaceous Burmese amber needs to be investigated using an analytical approach [ 241 , 242 ].…”

“…A study of the Elateridae diversity in amber is of great importance due to the three-dimensional preservation of specimens which allows us to compare the fossil fauna with extant specimens in much greater detail than in the case of compression fossils [ 188 , 229 ]. With the use of modern techniques such as micro-CT, researchers are able to reconstruct the morphology of a particular beetle even when the imporant diagnostic characters are obscured by opaque bubbles or suboptimal body position [ 94 , 242 , 258 ]. Regarding the click-beetle diversity in amber, only a few formally undescribed Elateridae were reported from Cretaceous Lebanese and Oligocene/Miocene Dominican ambers [ 54 , 95 , 188 , 253 ]; personal observations of authors].…”

Fossils Shed a New Light on the Diversity and Disparity of the Family Limoniidae (Diptera, Nematocera)

“…Cretaceous ambers are of great value for paleoentomological research. We find there the inclusions of descendants of the Triassic and Jurassic fauna hitherto known only from imprints in sediments, as well as the first representatives of families and genera which dominate in recent fauna [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Especially important is Burmese amber ( Figure 1 ), aged at the beginning of the Upper Cretaceous, Cenomanian (98.79 ± 0.62 Ma [ 9 ]).…”

The First Ptilodactyla Illiger, 1807 (Coleoptera: Dryopoidea: Ptilodactylidae) Described from Eocene Baltic Amber

“…These techniques were recently successfully applied in a number of paleontological studies dealing with various animal taxa, including both vertebrates [11,12] and invertebrates [13][14][15]. Regarding Coleoptera (beetles), the micro-CT was used in some studies focused on the Burmese amber [10,16], but it is especially successful in reconstructing the morphology of specimens from Baltic amber (including genitalia and fine morphology of specimens with body length under 1 mm) [17][18][19][20].…”

“…Bioinclusions in amber, which is a fossilized sticky tree resin, usually represent well-preserved and complete three-dimensional fossil remains that are relatively easily comparable with extant representatives. Recent advances in nondestructive imaging techniques such as the X-ray microcomputed tomography [ 5 , 6 , 7 ] enable the visualization of morphological features, even in specimens that are in a bad state of preservation [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. These techniques were recently successfully applied in a number of paleontological studies dealing with various animal taxa, including both vertebrates [ 11 , 12 ] and invertebrates [ 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”