Succinoomorphus warchalowskii, Bukejs, Andris & Nadein, Konstantin, 2015

Bukejs, Andris & Nadein, Konstantin, 2015, First fossil Lamprosomatinae leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) with descriptions of new genera and species from Baltic amber, Zootaxa 3931 (1), pp. 127-139 : 128-129

Tribe Lamprosomatini Lacordaire, 1848

The new taxa described below belong to the tribe Lamprosomatini on the basis of a combination of characters defined by Chamorro & Konstantinov (2011) and also by Monrós (1956, 1958): abdominal ventrites with fine transverse folding on their borders (visible in Succinoomorphus warchalowskii sp. nov. and Archelamprosomius balticus sp. nov., but hidden in Archelamprosomius kirejtshuki sp. nov.), last abdominal ventrite not excised in shape of arc, pygidium completely covered by elytra, scutellum acutely triangular, elytral punctuation arranged in regular striae.

Succinoomorphus gen. nov.

Type species: Succinoomorphus warchalowskii sp. nov.

Etymology. The generic name is formed from the words “succinum”—“amber” and “ Oomorphus ”; gender masculine.

Included species. The new genus includes only the type species.

Diagnosis. Vertex with longitudinal medial groove and with groove at inner and upper margins of eye, lateral margins of pronotum concave and without carina, prohypomera concave on whole surface, epipleura with weak projection in basal 1/3, legs strongly flattened.

Description. Body broadly oval, convex. Head flat in lateral view; vertex with longitudinal medial groove. Eyes weakly notched, convex; with groove at inner and upper margins. Clypeus transverse. Antennae filiform, antennal insertions widely separated. Pronotum transverse, narrowed anteriorly and convex medially, lateral margins without carina. Intercoxal prosternal process large, procoxal cavity open posteriorly, prohypomera concave over whole surface. Scutellum triangular. Humeral calli present. Elytral punctures arranged in regular striae. Epipleura horizontal, with weak and flat projection in basal 1/3. Coxae more or less transverse. Abdomen with five visible ventrites; ventrite 1 longest, about as long as ventrites 2 and 3 combined; distal border of ventrite 5 and lateral borders of ventrites 3 and 4 with fine transverse folding. Pygidium completely covered by elytra. Legs short, femora and tibiae strongly flattened, dorsal surface of protibiae flat, ventrolateral side of meso- and metatibiae with broad groove, metafemur reaching abdominal ventrite 3, tarsal claws simple.

Comparison. This new genus differs from the fossil genus Archelamprosomius gen. nov. in possessing a groove at upper and inner margins of eye, vertex with longitudinal median groove, lateral margins of pronotum not bordered, surface of prohypomera concave over whole surface, epipleura with weak and flat projection in basal 1/ 3, femora and tibiae strongly widened and flattened, protibiae with flat dorsal surface, outer ventrolateral side of meso- and metatibiae with broad groove, metafemora reached third abdominal ventrite.

Succinoomorphus gen. nov. resembles the recent Oomorphus Curtis, 1831 but differs in the slightly convex body, presence of a groove at the inner and upper margins of eye, anterior margin of pronotum narrowly convex at the middle, lateral margins of pronotum slightly concave in lateral view (while it is convex in O. concolor (Sturm, 1807) and absence of carina (with fine bordering in O. concolor ), anterior margin of the pronotum with distinctly convex bordering (almost flat and very fine in O. concolor ), prohypomera concave over whole surface (convex at anterior 2/ 3 in O. concolor ), posterior margin of pronotum straight from middle to posterior angle of pronotum (curved in O. concolor ), femora and tibiae much more flattened and widened, outer ventro-lateral side of meso- and metatibiae with distinct groove (absent in O. concolor ), abdominal ventrite 5 shorter than two previous ventrites combined (as long as two previous ventrites in O. concolor ). The new genus differs from Asisia Beždek, Löbl & Konstantinov, 2010 in the weakly notched eyes, tarsomere 4 projecting from tarsomere 3 to half of its length; from Dorisina Monrós, 1956 in the weakly notched eyes; from Lychnophaes Lacordaire, 1848 in the weakly notched eyes and narrower antennomeres 7–11; from Lamprosomoides Monrós, 1958 in in the presence of simple tarsal claws and the weakly notched eyes; from Lamprosoma Kirby, 1818 , Oomorphoides Monrós, 1956 , Oyarzuna Bechyné, 1950 , Scrophoomorphus L. Medvedev, 1968 , and Xenoomorphus Monrós, 1956 in the presence of simple tarsal claws.