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

本文报道了目前已知最古老的长角象科（Belidae）化石——新属新种中华美鞘象（*Sinoeuglypheus daohugouensis*），其化石产自中国东北中侏罗世晚期九龙山组地层。现存长角象科昆虫为特化植食性类群，寄主多为裸子植物或被子植物；而该新发现的长角象类很可能以当时共存的针叶树或其他裸子植物为食。现存长角象科类群主要分布于南半球。因此，此次在中国东北地层中发现的该新物种，对于理解该类群在中生代中期的辐射演化早期阶段，以及象甲总科（Curculionoidea）的早期演化具有重要科学意义。http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2020E35D-E918-4C84-993C-20B8E4DBB671