Coproporus electron sp. nov., the first tachyporine rove beetle in Dominican amber (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae)

Abstract

A new fossil rove beetle, Coproporus electron Yamamoto, sp. nov., is described from Dominican amber (early Middle Miocene). This is the first fossil of the genus and also represents the first formal record of the subfamily from Dominican amber. Coproporus electron even stands for the first fossil tachyporine described from the Neotropical region. Our finding is congruent with the hypothesis that the ancient forests that produced Dominican amber were long-vanished tropical forests, as modern members of Coproporus are restricted primarily to wet tropical regions.