Dark cardinals: were dark-bodied taxa of fire-coloured beetles (Coleoptera: Pyrochroidae) better represented in Eocene European amber?
Abstract
The Eocene taxa of fire-coloured or cardinal beetles, Pyrochroidae Latreille, 1806 are discussed with regard to the likely dark colouration of adults. Serratopogonocerus succinius gen. et sp. nov. from Eocene Baltic amber is described and illustrated. Its taxonomic position is discussed and supplementary description and images are provided for another Eocene Baltic amber species currently attributed to Pyrochroidae, Palaeopyrochroa crowsoni M. Abdullah, 1965. A brief overview of extinct Pyrochroidae reported from Eocene ambers of Europe is provided and a short discussion on their colour pattern is provided.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Coleoptera Taxonomy and Distribution
Fossil Insects in Amber
Scarabaeidae Beetle Taxonomy and Biogeography
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Ecologica Montenegrina
- Publisher
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecology
- Volume
- 98
- Pages
- 125–141
- Publication date
- 7 June 2026