Remarkable diversity of beetles (Coleoptera) in the Late Triassic (Norian) "Solite deposit" of Virginia and North Carolina

Title Variants

Alternative: Beetles of the Solite deposit

Related Titles

Series: Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, number 467

By

Criscione-Vastano, Julia,
Grimaldi, David A.

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, NY, American Museum of Natural History, [2024]

Notes

Caption title.

"Issued May 31, 2024."

Known from over 50 Triassic localities worldwide, beetles were a significant component of the early Mesozoic paleofauna. Beetle fossils are particularly diverse in the Late Triassic (Norian) Cow Branch and Walnut Cove formations (Solite deposit) of Virginia and North Carolina, with 100 distinct morphotypes sorted from approximately 1000 specimens. The diversity of the Solite Coleoptera is documented, the 100 beetle morphotypes are informally described, and comparisons are made with other beetle communities through geologic time. In comparison with modern beetle communities, the Solite fauna shares two remarkable similarities. First, the distribution of Solite beetle body sizes matches that of some modern beetle communities, with the majority of specimens in both groups measuring between 2 and 4 mm in length. Second, the vast majority of the 100 Solite morphotypes (84%) are known from only a single specimen. This pattern somewhat follows the species abundance distribution of modern animal communities, in which a community is comprised of only a few common species and many rare species. In contrast, the Solite beetle fauna differs markedly from those of other Triassic and Early Jurassic deposits, both in the composition of higher taxa present, as well as in the lack of shared taxa between sites. The uniqueness of the Solite taxa, including the remarkable diversity, demonstrate the importance of the Solite Konservat-Lagerstätte in understanding the evolutionary history of Order Coleoptera.

Subjects

Beetles, Fossil , North Carolina , Paleoentomology , Triassic , Variation , Virginia

Call Number

QH1 .A4 no. 467 2024

Language

English

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0090.467.1.1
OCLC: 1436704887