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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #314554
Title: Two new fossil species of Cryptocephalus Geoffroy (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from Baltic and Dominican Amber

Author
item BUKEJS, A. - Non ARS Employee
item Chamorro, Maria

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/4/2015
Publication Date: 4/30/2015
Citation: Bukejs, A., Chamorro, M.L. 2015. Two new fossil species of Cryptocephalus Geoffroy (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from Baltic and Dominican Amber. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 117(2):116-125.

Interpretive Summary: Leaf beetles are among the most important insects for U.S. agriculture. Many are serious pests, feeding on crops and destroying valuable plants; others are important biological control agents that can be used to control unwanted weeds. This works describes for the first time two fossil species in the subfamily Cryptocephalinae. Fossil species, particularly ones as well-preserved as these in amber, provide numerous morphological characters necessary to determine the age of certain groups when reconstructing the tree of life. Fossil species can also help us understand the evolutionary history of a group and allow scientist to make more informed decisions about their use in biological control. This publication will be useful to biological control workers, taxonomists, ecologists, conservation biologists, coleopterists, morphologists and those interested in plant-feeding beetles and their evolution.

Technical Abstract: Two new species of Cryptocephalus Geoffroy (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are described and illustrated from fossil resin: Cryptocephalus groehni sp. nov (Baltic amber) and Cryptocephalus kheelorum sp. nov. (Dominican amber). These are the first described species of Cryptocephalinae from fossil resin. These new fossil species may serve with taxonomic certainty as calibration points in divergence dating estimates.