The first scarabaeid beetle (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae) described from the Mesozoic (Late-Cretaceous) of Africa

Abstract

A full description is given of the first scarabaeid beetle documented from the Mesozoic (Late Cretaceous) of Africa (Orapa, Botswana). Brief and partial descriptions of this beetle have appeared in two previous review papers of fossils from the Orapa Diamond Mine. This work represents an updated analysis and interpretation of the fossil based on character comparison and phylogenetic analysis. The new genus and species, Ceafornotensis archratiras, are described in Melolonthinae incertae sedis. Phylogenetic analysis suggests a sister group relationship with the tribe Phaenognathini (Melolonthinae incertae sedis). Although phytophagy in the adult beetle cannot be confirmed, it is proposed that angiosperms could have contributed to a proportion of its diet (larval or adult). This beetle may belong to a stem lineage of pleurostict scarabaeids which later experienced major radiation in response to widespread environmental changes brought about by continuing radiation of the angiosperms.