Micropeplus macrofulvus Gersdorf, 1976

Shaw, Josh Jenkins, Gehler, Alexander & Kaulfuss, Uwe, 2024, Review of the rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from the Pliocene of Willershausen, Germany, Zootaxa 5424 (1), pp. 116-126 : 118-119

Micropeplus macrofulvus Gersdorf, 1976

Material. Holotype, GZG.W.24110a+b (30166) ( Fig. 2A & B ).

Remarks. Gersdorf (1976) noted the affinity of Micropeplus macrofulvus to Micropeplus fulvus Erichson, 1840 . Gersdorf (1976) remarked on the similarity in the sculpture of the pronotum but that it was narrower in M. macrofulvus and the outer ridge was absent. Gersdorf (1976) notes that the head sculpture was not consistent with M. fulvus . He also noted on the difference in size, which is here confirmed. Micropeplus macrofulvus seems to have shorter elytra than M. fulvus . Micropeplus fulvus is smaller than M. macrofulus with a range of 2–2.3 mm in body length (3.18 mm in M. macrofulvus ). Other than Micropeplus fulvus , M. macrofulvus is rather similar to Micropeplus latus Hampe, 1861 from Slovenia and Croatia but differs in the shape and structure of the pronotum. In terms of size, M. macrorufus is most similar to M. latus (2–3 mm). Micropeplus macrofulvus differs from Micropeplus caelatus Erichson, 1839 and Micropeplus porcatus (Paykull, 1789) in overall body size (aforementioned species smaller) and shape of width of pronotum. It seems reasonable to maintain Micropeplus macrofulvus as a distinct species pending further comparison with other species of Micropeplus from different regions.

Several other fossil Micropeplinae are known. Micropeplus hoogendorni Matthews, 1970 and Micropeplus hopkinsi Matthews., 1970 were described from the Pliocene of western Alaska ( Matthews 1970). Micropeplus pengweii Jiang, Rixin, Zhong Peng & Shuo Wang, 2020 and Protopeplus cretaceus Cai & Huang, 2014 were described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The oldest fossil Micropeplinae is an undescribed specimen from the Khasurty Fossil Insect Lagerstätte (Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia, Russia) ( Kopylov et al. 2020).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Micropeplus macrofulvus Gersdorf, 1976 (Holotype, GZG.W.24110a+b (30166)). A, Part. B, Counterpart. Scale bar = 1 mm.