EARLY-STAGE FOSSIL LARVA OF SHIP-TIMBER BEETLES WITH DEFENSIVE PLATE-LIKE ABDOMEN IN BALTIC AMBER
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54103/2039-4942/30579Keywords:
Lymexyloidea; Lymexylidae; Hylecoetidae; wood borer; defensive structures; ambrosia beetles; Ascomycota associatedAbstract
Ship-timber beetles (Lymexyloidea) are represented by elongated adults with specialised maxillae and larvae with specific morphologies of their abdomen end. They are leading wood-associated lifestyles, with larvae spending most of their life within wood. With strong mandibles and saw-like asperities on their bodies they manage to bore into the hard wood and expell the wood rests. Even though the group does not comprise many species today, there are multiple fossil reports of adult ship-timber beetles. However, larvae have so far only been described in the literature for extant species. The only mentionings of possible fossil larvae date back to the 19th and early 20th centuries. Here, I report an early-stage larva of Hylecoetidae. Based on the morphology of the mandibles, the numerous asperities on the body, and a specialised plate-like abdominal segment IX, all of which resemble features found in modern larvae of Elateroides dermestoides associated with boring into wood, this Eocene fossil larva likely shared a hardwood-associated lifestyle.
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