Eucinetus panghongae Li & Cai 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Li, Yan-Da
name: Engel, Michael S.
name: Huang, Di-Ying
name: Cai, Chen-Yang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Eucinetidae
Eucinetus
Eucinetus panghongae

description: Eucinetus panghongae Li & Cai sp. nov.
(Figs 5–8)
Material. Holotype, NIGP203940, male.
Etymology. The species is named after the coleopterist Dr. Hong Pang.
Locality and horizon. Amber mine located near Noije Bum Village, Tanai Township, Myitkyina District, Kachin State, Myanmar; unnamed horizon, mid-Cretaceous, Upper Albian to Lower Cenomanian.
Diagnosis. Labrum emarginate (Fig. 7A). Apical maxillary palpomere asymmetrical, apically with aciculate tip (Fig. 7A). Antennomere 3 about 0.85 times as long as 4 (Fig. 7A); antennomere 11 about 2.5 times as long as wide (Fig. 7B). Scutellar shield rounded at apex (Fig. 7F). Elytra about 1.8 times as long as combined width. Hind wings present. Metanepisternum at least twice as long as wide. Meso- and metatibiae at most with only one or two spines along outer edge (Figs 6B, 7E). Mesotibial spurs large; both distinctly stouter than spines along apical fringe of mesotibia (Fig. 7D). Metatibial spurs equal (Fig. 7F).
Description. Body fusiform and slender, about 1.6 mm long, 0.7 mm wide; surface with fine short setae.
Head deflexed against ventral side of prothorax; entirely concealed from above by pronotum. Compound eyes weakly emarginate anteriorly, with interfacetal setae. Antennae 11-segmented, filiform; antennomere 2 elongate; antennomeres 3–10 moderately longer than wide; antennomere 3 about 0.85 times as long as 4; antennomere 11 about 2.5 times as long as wide. Frontoclypeal suture straight anteriorly and with distinct anterolateral angles. Labrum weakly narrowed toward apex, apically emarginate. Mouthparts non-suctorial. Apical maxillary palpomere asymmetrical, apically with aciculate tip.
Prothorax widest at base. Lateral pronotal carinae complete, simple. Pronotal disc simple. Procoxae obliquely oriented, well-projecting, narrowly separated. Scutellar shield rounded at apex. Elytra about 1.8 times as long as combined width; transversely strigulate; sutural stria present; epipleuron narrow, incomplete. Hind wings present. Metaventral posterior process with distinct median discrimen. Metanepisternum at least twice as long as wide. Metacoxae contiguous; metacoxal plates well-developed and greatly enlarged.
Mid and hind legs with fringe of spines at apices of tibiae and tarsomeres; fore legs without apical fringes of spines. Meso- and metatibiae at most with only one or two spines along outer edge. Mesotibial spurs large; both distinctly stouter than spines along apical fringe of mesotibia. Metatibial spurs equal. Tarsi 5-5-5, simple. Meso- and metapretarsal claws with accessory lobes (Fig. 7G).
Abdomen with six ventrites. Posterior margin of ventrite 5 subtruncate, not emarginate.
Remarks. The sternite VIII of NIGP203940 (and also NIGP203939) is densely covered with setae like the preceding ventrites (Fig. 7F). It should be normally exposed when alive, representing the sixth ventrite. In some recent comprehensive coleopteran compendia, the abdomen is described as having only five ventrites for the whole Eucinetidae (Lawrence & Ślipiński 2013; Leschen 2016). However, the sternite VIII is actually commonly exposed in many extant members of Eucinetus (Vit 1977a).
description: Published as part of Li, Yan-Da, Engel, Michael S., Huang, Di-Ying & Cai, Chen-Yang, 2024, Three new species of the extant genus Eucinetus from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar (Coleoptera: Eucinetidae), pp. 214-230 in Zootaxa 5492 (2) on pages 220-222, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5492.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/13219234