Center for Systematic Entomology

Annotated catalogue of fossil Meloidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) with discovery of a junior homonym

ColeopteraTenebrionoideaeMeloidae

  • Natalie A. Saxton

    Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    ORCID 0000-0001-5993-9782

  • Kyle E. Schnepp

    Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    ORCID 0000-0003-3056-4897

  • Gareth S. Powell

    Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    ORCID 0000-0003-0847-2718
DOI
https://doi.org/10.64338/im.1171.50t79
ZooBank
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:ECD3D3E1-9B31-4D3E-878B-0F74D2EFD262
Keywords
Blister beetles, paleofauna, systematics

Note

The penultimate line on page 10 of the revised pdf has been corrected to say that Tremembasis is a "Replacement name for Microbasis Martins-Neto, 1998". This revision (created in May 2026) is not an official Insecta Mundi publication; future references to this text should cite the original manuscript published in February 2026.

Abstract

Meloidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) is a diverse family of Tenebrionoidea that is estimated to be at least 130 million years old. Tere are 16 formally described fossil taxa, with the oldest originating in the mid-Cretaceous. Each formally described fossil species is reviewed here with a nomenclatural history, overview of type material, age, fossil type, and general remarks. We also address several nomenclatural issues. We formally move Zonitis magus (Heyden) new combination from Onitis Fabricius, and provide the replace¬ment name Tremembasis Saxton, Schnepp, and Powell nomen novum for Microbasis Martins-Neto, a junior homonym of Microbasis Dallas (Hemiptera: Coreidae).

References (69)

  • Anderson RY, Kirkland DW. 1969. Paleoecology of an early Pleistocene lake on the High Plains of Texas. Te Geological Society of America; Boulder, CO. 215 p
  • Balthasar V. 1963. Monographie der Scarabaeidae und Aphodiidae der Palaearktischen und Orientalischen Region. Coleoptera: Lamellicornia, 1: Allgemeiner Teil, Systematischer Teil 1. Scarabaeinae, 2. Coprinae (Pinotini, Coprini). Verlad der Tschechoslowakische Akademie der Wissenschafen; Prague, Czechia. 392 p
  • Behrensmeyer AK, Turner A. 2013. Taxonomic occurrences of Meloidae recorded in the Paleobiology Database. Fossil-works. Available at http://fossilworks.org
  • Berendt GC. 1845. Die im Bernstein befndlichen organischen Reste der Vorwelt, vol. 1. Nicolaischen Buchhandlung; Berlin, Germany. 125 p
  • Bologna MA, Oliverio M, Pitzalis M, Mariottini P. 2008. Phylogeny and evolutionary history of the blister beetles (Coleoptera, Meloidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 48: 679–693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2008.04.019
  • Bologna MA, Pinto JD. 2002. Te Old World genera of Meloidae (Coleoptera): a key and synopsis. Journal of Natural History 36: 2013–2102. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930110062318
  • Bologna MA, Turco F, Pinto JD. 2011. 11.19. Meloidae Gyllenhal, 1810. In: Leschen RAB, Beutel RG, Lawrence JF (eds.). Handbook of zoology. Volume 2. Morphology and systematics (Elateroidea, Bostrichiformia, Cucujiformia partim). De Gruyter; New York, NY. 736 p
  • Bouchard P, Bousquet Y, Davies AE, Alonso-Zarazaga MA, Lawrence JF, Lyal CH, Newton AF, Reid CAM, Schmitt M, Ślipiński A, Smith AB. 2011. Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta). ZooKeys 88: 1–972. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.88.807
  • Dallas WS. 1852. List of the specimens of hemipterous insects in the collection of the British Museum Part II. Taylor and Francis; London, UK. 590 p
  • DeKoster RN, Rember WC, McCoy VE. 2023. Characterization of a pyritized fossil pollen cone from Clarkia, Idaho. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 318: 104988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2023.104988
  • Carmo GM, de Souza Lima S, de Araújo-Júnior HI, Pinheiro RM, de Melo DJ, Couto-Ribeiro G. 2024. Checklist paleofaunístico da Formação Tremembé (Oligoceno da Bacia de Taubaté, Vale do Paraíba, Brasil). Terrae Didatica 20: e024013-e024013. https://doi.org/10.20396/td.v20i00.8674375
  • Engel MS. 2005. An Eocene ectoparasite of bees: Te oldest defnitive record of phoretic meloid triungulins (Coleoptera: Meloidae; Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 48: 43–48. https://doi.org/10.3409/173491505783995635
  • Evanof E, McIntosh WC, Murphey PC. 2001. Stratigraphic summary and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of the Florissant Formation, Colorado. p. 1–16. In: Evanof E, Gregory-Wodzicki KM, Johnson KR (eds.). Fossil fora and stratigraphy of the Florissant Formation. Proceedings of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science 4: 1–216.
  • Ferrusquía-Villafranca I, Ruiz-González JE. 2015. Isotope geochronology and vertebrate paleontology in Mexico: Panorama and critical appraisal. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas 32: 323–342. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.318345
  • Fikáček M, Schmied H. 2013. Insect fauna of the Late Miocene locality of Öhningen (Germany) less diverse than reported: an example of the hydrophilid beetles (Coleoptera). Journal of Paleontology 87: 427–443. https://doi.org/10.1666/12101.1