A NEW FOSSILTENEBRIONID BEETLE OF THE TRIBE PALORINI (COLEOPTERA: TENEBRIONIDAE) FROM EOCENE BALTIC AMBER

The tenebrionid beetle Vabole triplehorni Alekseev and Nabozhenko, new genus and new species (tribe Palorini), is described from Baltic amber. The new genus has the following combination of tribal characters: round eyes, compact antennae (but with weakly longitudinal antennomeres), unlobed cylindrical tarsomeres, mesocoxal cavities closed by the ventrites, and transverse, angulate scutellum. Additionally, Vabole has a 4-4-4 tarsal formula, which is characteristic among Tenebrionidae for some genera of the tribes Palorini, Hyocini, Rhipidandrini, Archaeoglenini, and the subfamily Lagriinae. The new genus is most similar to the extant genus Platycotylus Oliff, 1883 based on the strongly flattened body and longitudinal antennomeres, but differs from this genus and most genera of the tribe Palorini based on the tarsal formula, small antennomere 11 compared to the preceding antennomeres, presence of strong spines on the inner side of the tibiae, and the wide prosternal process. A brief ecological and zoogeographical discussion is provided.