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A specimen of Curculioninae (Curculionidae, Coleoptera) from the Lower Cretaceous, Araripe Basin, north‐eastern Brazil
Author(s) -
SANTOS MÁRCIA FERNANDES DE AQUINO,
MERMUDES JOSÉ RICARDO M.,
FONSECA VERA MARIA MEDINA DA
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
palaeontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.69
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1475-4983
pISSN - 0031-0239
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01057.x
Subject(s) - rostrum , cretaceous , aptian , paleontology , curculionidae , geology , genus , subfamily , tribe , group (periodic table) , gondwana , structural basin , biology , zoology , botany , physics , biochemistry , quantum mechanics , sociology , gene , anthropology
A specimen of Curculionidae (Curculioninae) is described as Arariperhinus monnei gen. et sp. nov. The specimen is preserved on a laminated limestone sample of the Crato Formation (Santana Group), Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian), and was collected from a quarry near Nova Olinda, Chapada do Araripe, State of Ceará, Brazil. The genus is placed in the subfamily Curculioninae because of its strongly convex body and relatively slender rostrum, but mainly by its rounded eyes and lack of a prosternal sulcus and tibial spurs. The very prominent eyes in lateral view, a cylindrical rostrum and a straight posterior margin of ventrite II are strong indications that this fossil belongs to the tribe Anthonomini. However, the claws, which would resolve the exact placement of this fossil, are poorly preserved. Arariperhinus monnei gen. et sp. nov. is distinguishable by the combination of several characters and the first record of the family Curculionidae in the Santana Group; it is the oldest record of a member of the subfamily Curculioninae.