Modern hydrophilid clades present and widespread in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea: Hydrophilidae)
Author
Fikáček, Martin
Author
Prokin, Alexander
Author
Yan, Evgeny
Author
Yue, Yanli
Author
Wang, Bo
Author
Ren, Dong
Author
Beattie, Robert
text
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
2014
2014-04-30
170
4
710
734
http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/zoj.12114
journal article
10.1111/zoj.12114
0024-4082
10273948
HYDROYIXIA
GEN. NOV.
Type
species:
Hydroyixia elongata
sp. nov.
, by present designation.
Time range:
Early Cretaceous.
Diagnosis:
Body medium-sized; labrum partly exposed in dorsal view (
Figs 5A, D, F
,
7J
,
8E
); anterior margin of clypeus deeply and widely excised mesally (
Figs 5A, D, F
,
7J
,
8E
); prosternum moderately long; scutellar shield small, triangular; anapleural sutures well developed, weakly curved, converging anteriad; mesoventrite very narrow anteriorly (
Figs 5B, I
,
7I, K
,
8F
); mesocoxae very narrowly separated; abdomen with five ventrites; apical abdominal ventrite with shallow wide emargination (
Figs 5B, F–G, I
,
7L–M
); elytron with deeply impressed sutural stria (
Figs 5A, C, F, I
); elytra with series of punctures (
Figs 5C, F, I
); elytral trichobothria very distinct (
Fig. 5E
); metathoracic leg with five tarsomeres; mesotarsomere 1 very short (
Fig. 5H
).
Etymology:
The generic name consists of the prefix
hydro
- referring to the
Hydrophilidae
, and the ending
-yixia
referring to the Yixian Formation from which both species of this genus are described. Feminine.
Family assignment:
The combination of large clypeus, well-developed frontoclypeal sutures reaching lateral margin of head closely before eyes, head not constricted behind eyes, and the small triangular scutellar shield assigns the fossil reliably to the family
Hydrophilidae
s.s.
Additionally, it corresponds well with the modern aquatic groups of the
Hydrophilidae
in general habitus, ventral morphology, and the presence of very distinct trichobothria on elytra and pronotum.
Comparison with other hydrophilid genera:
Based on the presence of the apical emargination on the posterior margin of the abdominal ventrite 5,
Hydroyixia
resembles the extant representatives of the
Hydrobiusini
, early branching
Hydrophilini
,
Enochrinae
, and
Acidocerinae
. In contrast to the
Hydrophilini
, the meso- and metaventrite of
Hydroyixia
are not fused into a common ventral keel and the posterior leg lacks series of swimming hairs. In contrast to the
Cymbiodyta
clade of the
Enochrinae
, the metathoracic leg bears five tarsomeres. The mesoventrite narrowing anteriad is not known in any extant genus of the
Enochrinae
, and in the
Acidocerinae
only occurs in few clades of the
Helochares
group (e.g. genus
Peltochares
Régimbart, 1907
and
Helochares obscurus
species group, from which
Hydroyixia
gen. nov.
differs by the presence of the sutural stria). Angular excision of the clypeus is present in the sperchopsine clade of the
Hydrobiusini
(which differ from
Hydroyixia
by denticulate lateral margins of elytra) and in many genera of the
Acidocerinae
. Many aquatic taxa of the
Acidocerinae
are also characterized by very conspicuous trichobothria on pronotum and elytra, which corresponds to some specimens of
Hydroyixia
. The combination of characters present in
Hydroyixia
hence assigns it best to the
Acidocerinae
.