Another Type of Beetle Larva of Elateridae from Kachin Amber: A Hairy Click Beetle Larva

In the modern fauna, click beetle larvae are important ecosystem components, fulfilling different ecological functions. The fossil record of click beetle larvae is still scarce. Even in the very diverse fauna of the Kachin amber forest (Myanmar, Cretaceous, ca. 100 million years old), only three morphotypes of click beetle larvae have been reported so far. Here, we add a fourth morphotype, characterised by very long setae. The mouthparts indicate a predatory lifestyle. The long and quite stiff-appearing setae might have protected the larvae, for example, when hunting in termite nests, which is a strategy that some extant click beetle larvae apply. This would also imply a closer association with wood and thus a greater likelihood of preservation in amber. Here, we present twelve larvae of this new morphotype, representing two or three possible species, including an ontogenetic series for one of these.