A NEW SPECIES OF ATRACTOCERUS PASILOT DE BEAUVOIS IN BURMESE AMBER (COLEOPTERA: LYMEXYLIDAE) AND A DISCUSSION OF RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE GENUS

Atractocerus wheeleri , the first known representative of the beetle family Lymexylidae, is described from a specimen preserved in Late Cretaceous (90-100 Ma) Burmese amber. Although members of the genus Atractocerus are easily recognized by their unusually long and narrow bodies and shortened elytra, the genus is rare and therefore, not well studied. The evolutionary history of Atractocerus is still unknown. Because fossils often preserve unique combinations of characters that can help resolve phylogenetic relationships and provide information, the availibility of this fossil, and of fourteen additional Atractocerus preserved in Dominican, Mexican, and Burmese amber, provide an opportunity for a thorough cladistic study of both the extant and extinct members of the group, including information about ancestral characters, timing of diversification and past geographical distributions.