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Description
"Tachyporinae"
(Crab-like rove beetles)

Clade: Coleoptera
Age: 56 million years ago

Description:
The Paleocene fossil record of Atlantis demonstrates a pretty remarkable level of preservation of its ancient entomofauna. Odonatans, orthopterans, hemipteran bugs, beetles and hymenopterans have been found from that period. Although several species have been described, here we speak about the “tachyporine” beetles of the São Miguel Formation, dating to the latest Paleocene, some 56 million years ago, very close to the cusp of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

The subfamily Tachyporinae is a problematic one, phylogeny-wise, with them being paraphyletic or polyphyletic, with fossil tachyporines being or not related to some modern representatives. Tachyporines, being extremelly small, are also sometimes hard to study, and more so to preserve in the fossil record.

In the left, we observe a few of the species described. Lolita atlantica is a species that may actually be closely related to the modern Tachyporus. The large Megatachinus harryi is an extraordinarily large, almost 1 cm long, relative of the modern Tachinus. The one that is most phylogenetically disparate of the three, in this image, is Arthrorapax velox. This one is part of the Mycetoporini subtribe (which may be its own subfamily outside Tachyporinae, altogether). It demonstrates some resemblance to the modern genus Lordithon and, simillarly, it probably lived in decaying fungal matter, eating springtails, fly larvae and decomposing material.

#atlantisbestiary

This is a specevo entry for Hyrotrioskjan's Phase I of Atlantis Bestiary, a community spec evo project focused on an island that forms east to North America, some 66 million years ago or so. This Phase I was dedicated to the later part of the Paleocene stage (61-56 mya, more or less), with two new phases following this one, respectively covering the late Miocene and then the Quaternary, as the island moves further into the north Atlantic and approaches Iberia.

Megatachinus harryi was canonized into the Phase I of Atlantis.

Description
"Tachyporinae"
(Crab-like rove beetles)

Clade: Coleoptera
Age: 56 million years ago

Description:
The Paleocene fossil record of Atlantis demonstrates a pretty remarkable level of preservation of its ancient entomofauna. Odonatans, orthopterans, hemipteran bugs, beetles and hymenopterans have been found from that period. Although several species have been described, here we speak about the “tachyporine” beetles of the São Miguel Formation, dating to the latest Paleocene, some 56 million years ago, very close to the cusp of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

The subfamily Tachyporinae is a problematic one, phylogeny-wise, with them being paraphyletic or polyphyletic, with fossil tachyporines being or not related to some modern representatives. Tachyporines, being extremelly small, are also sometimes hard to study, and more so to preserve in the fossil record.

In the left, we observe a few of the species described. Lolita atlantica is a species that may actually be closely related to the modern Tachyporus. The large Megatachinus harryi is an extraordinarily large, almost 1 cm long, relative of the modern Tachinus. The one that is most phylogenetically disparate of the three, in this image, is Arthrorapax velox. This one is part of the Mycetoporini subtribe (which may be its own subfamily outside Tachyporinae, altogether). It demonstrates some resemblance to the modern genus Lordithon and, simillarly, it probably lived in decaying fungal matter, eating springtails, fly larvae and decomposing material.

#atlantisbestiary

This is a specevo entry for Hyrotrioskjan's Phase I of Atlantis Bestiary, a community spec evo project focused on an island that forms east to North America, some 66 million years ago or so. This Phase I was dedicated to the later part of the Paleocene stage (61-56 mya, more or less), with two new phases following this one, respectively covering the late Miocene and then the Quaternary, as the island moves further into the north Atlantic and approaches Iberia.

Megatachinus harryi was canonized into the Phase I of Atlantis.