Lycocerus jesperibuchi, Fanti & Damgaard, 2019

Fanti, Fabrizio & Damgaard, Anders Leth, 2019, New soldier beetles (Cantharidae) from Baltic, Burmese and Dominican ambers of the Anders Damgaard amber collection, Baltic Journal of Coleopterology 19 (2), pp. 101-125 : 106-109

Lycocerus jesperibuchi sp. nov.

( Figs. 5 - 6 )

Holotype. Male, in Baltic amber, accession No. ALDC0340 /ALD. Ba.Can. 11

Type locality. Russia: Kaliningrad Region, Sambian Peninsula, Yantarny.

Type horizon. Middle Eocene (Lutetian) (47.8- 41.2 MY) to Late Eocene (Priabonian) (37.8-33.9 MY). Prussian Formation.

Differential diagnosis. The slender appearance, the evident tooth on the claws of the forelegs and in particular the sub-quadrate pronotum make this species probably belongs to the genus Lycocerus Gorham, 1899 . Moreover, a notable projection on the basal part of the pro- and mesotarsal claws is not present in the Cantharis of the subgenus Cyrtomoptila ( Kuśka 1996; Fanti & Damgaard 2018). Lycocerus is a genus with several living species, but with only two fossils known from Baltic amber and described recently ( Kazantsev 2018). The new species differs from Lycocerus christelae Kazantsev, 2018 and Lycocerus dentantennatus Kazantsev, 2018 for the larger dimensions, different antennomeres, pronotum and color ( Kazantsev 2018). Furthermore, Lycocerus jesperibuchi sp. nov. differs from the only fossil Podistra by the sub-quadrate pronotum (Fanti & Damgaard 2018) and from the fossils Cantharis (s. str.) by the pronotum not strongly transverse and with straight sides ( Kuśka 1992; Kazantsev 2018; Kupryjanowicz & Fanti 2019; present work).

Description. Adult, winged, slender. Male on the basis of the slender abdomen and relative long antennae. Head and elytra blackish, pronotum and scutellar shield brown-testaceous (probably yellow in life), legs brown, antennae dark brown. Body length: 11.0 mm, elytra: 8.0 mm. Head wide, transverse, dorsally flat, not completely exposed, slightly narrower than pronotum, slightly wrinkled and covered by small and short setae. Eyes wide, convex, sub-elliptical, strongly prominent, inserted laterally and in the upper part of the head, inter-ocular dorsal distance about 3.0 times greater than eye diameter. Mandibles elongate, robust, falciform, without tooth. Maxillary palpi 4-segmented, palpomeres unequal in length, last palpomere securiform and very elongate. Labial palpi 3-segmented with the last palpomere securiform. Antennae inserted on the forehead, 11-segmented, filiform, surpassing the metathoracic legs, not reaching the elytral apex; scape club-shaped, elongate; pedicel short, stout, about 2.2 times shorter than scape; antennomere III filiform, as long as scape; antennomeres IV-V longer than antennomere III; antennomeres VI-VII short, slightly longer than scape; antennomere VIII as long as antennomeres IV-V; antennomeres IX-X progressively shorter than the previous one; antennomere XI filiform, rounded at apex; all antennomeres equipped with small setae. Pronotum nearly as long as wide (slightly elongate), subquadrate, with slightly convex anterior and posterior margin, pronotal sides slightly concave, anterior corners rounded, posterior corners almost rectangular, surface more convex basally and flat anteriorly with a groove at the posterior margin, equipped with short setae on the disc and longer setae on the sides. Scutellar shield stout, triangular-shaped, enlarged basally and with rounded apex. Elytra wider than pronotum, long, parallel-sided, rounded and narrower at apex, equipped with long and erected setae. Metathoracic wings covered by elytra. Abdomen with eight visible ventrites, transverse and pubescent. Legs stout, pubescent; coxae rounded, robust; trochanters elongate and rounded at apex; femora slightly curved, more robust than tibiae; tibiae nearly as long as femora, cylindrical, thin, equipped with spur; tarsal formula 5-5- 5, with the first tarsomere robust and about 1.3 times longer than second; third tarsomere subequal in length as the second tarsomere; fourth tarsomere conspicuously widened and strongly bilobed; fifth elongate, flat; claws simple and thin with an evident basally tooth on pro- and mesoclaws and an obtuse tooth in the metaclaws. Aedeagus not visible. Female unknown.

Etymology. In honor of entrepreneur and executive chairman Jesper Buch, founder of one of the world’s biggest E-commerce successes.

Syninclusions. Debris, stellate hairs of oak ( Quercus ), and one long leg (probably Diptera).

Remarks. The block is rather thick, irregular and with conchoidal fractures. Measures approximately 25 x 21 x 12 mm. The inclusion is complete, clearly visible from the front and from the left side, and slightly dorsally.

Figures

Fig. 5. Lycocerus jesperibuchi sp. nov. ALDC0340/ALD.Ba.Can.11 in Baltic amber. A: Holotype, dorsal view, bar = 1.0 mm; B: Holotype, lateral view, bar = 1.0 mm; C: Holotype, detail of left antenna and pronotum, bar = 500 μm; D: Holotype, detail of elytra, bar = 1.0 mm.

Fig. 6. Lycocerus jesperibuchi sp. nov. ALDC0340/ALD.Ba.Can.11 in Baltic amber. A: Holotype, detail of palpi, mandibles and right proleg, bar = 500 μm; B: Holotype, detail of palpi and mandibles, bar = 500 μm; C: Holotype, detail of pronotum and scutellar shield, bar = 500 μm; D: Holotype, detail of femur and last abdominal segments, bar = 100 μm.