Wuhua jurassica

The Tenebrionoidea is amongst the most diverse group of beetles, but its fossil record is rare. Fossil beetles are very important for understanding the early evolution of beetles, because they contribute significantly to valuable information such as times of divergences and extinctions.

Dr. WANG Bo and Prof. ZHANG Haichun from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences described a definitive oldest tenebrionoid beetle (Wuhua jurassica) from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, China. The wedge-shaped body and tarsal formula 5-5-4 in Wuhua place it in Tenebrionoidea undoubtedly. However, it is difficult to incorporate Wuhua into any existing family of Tenebrionoidea, because of the unusual combination of its characters. Wuhua shares some similarities with some Mesozoic mordellid-like beetles: the body convex, head strongly deflexed, antennae filiform, pygidium absent, hind leg not strongly developed and tarsi simple. The specimen probably has a close relationship with these mordellid-like beetles. This discovery extends the time of origin of Tenebrionoidea to the Middle Jurassic.

Paper reference: Wang Bo, Zhang Haichun. (2011) The oldest Tenebrionoidea (Coleoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of China. Journal of Paleontology, 85(2): 266-270