The earliest fossil record of Belidae and its implications for the early evolution of Curculionoidea (Coleoptera)

Here we report the earliest known fossil belid, <i>Sinoeuglypheus daohugouensis</i> gen. et sp. nov., from the latest Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of north-eastern China. Extant belids are specialist herbivores feeding on gymnosperms or angiosperms, but it is likely that this new belid fed on coexisting conifers or other gymnosperms. Extant members of Belidae are predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, this new find in the north-eastern China deposit is significant for understanding the early stages of the radiation of this group during the mid-Mesozoic, and the early evolution of Curculionoidea. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2020E35D-E918-4C84-993C-20B8E4DBB671