AUTHOR=Li Yan-Da , Ślipiński Adam , Huang Di-Ying , Cai Chen-Yang 

TITLE=New fossils of Sphaeriusidae from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber revealed by confocal microscopy (Coleoptera: Myxophaga)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Earth Science

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.901573

DOI=10.3389/feart.2022.901573

ISSN=2296-6463

ABSTRACT=<p>Sphaeriusidae is a small family of tiny aquatic beetles in the suborder Myxophaga. In this study we characterize two new sphaeriusid fossils from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber with the help of confocal laser scanning microscopy. <italic>Sphaerius martini</italic> Li &amp; Cai <bold>sp. nov.</bold> displays similarities with both extant <italic>Bezesporum</italic> and <italic>Sphaerius</italic>, although it can be readily recognized based on the parallel-sided prosternum. <italic>Crowsonaerius minutus</italic> Li &amp; Cai <bold>gen. et sp. nov.</bold> differs from other genera of Sphaeriusidae in having unreduced apical maxillary palpomeres, lowered mesoventrite, large metacoxal plates, separated mesotrochanter and mesofemur, and equal pretarsal claws. The present study demonstrates the efficacy of confocal microscopy in studying minute and dark bioinclusions in amber.urn:lsid:<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://zoobank.org/" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">zoobank.org</ext-link>:pub:6E6EDC20-744A-4A75-849A-4B6126628C15.</p>