Dr. Hiroyuki Yoshitomi lady beetle (Yassibum yoshitomii) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber

NEWS - Coccinelloid beetles have a rare fossil record from the Mesozoic, but researchers describe and illustrate an unusual fossil, Yassibum yoshitomii, from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. The new genus and species stand out within the Coccinelloidea because of the notched prophemorea and the presence of antennal grooves on the elytral epipleura.

Yassibum is characterized by an oval body, 10-segmented antennae, with a 3-segmented club. Labrum with a strongly emarginate apex. Pronotal disc with a narrow and deep basolateral sulcus. Procoxa prominent.

Elytral epipleura broad at base, basally with antennal grooves extending posterolaterally. Mesocoxa cavity broadly closed laterally. Mesoventrite and metaventrite without opening near anterior margin. Metanepisterna hidden. Profemora with prominent incisions on outer side. Tarsi simple, 4-4-4.

The species name is gender-neutral. The species is named after coleopterist Dr. Hiroyuki Yoshitomi. The main characteristics are an oval body, slightly convex dorsal side, about 1.3 mm long, 0.9 mm wide and a slightly silty surface.

Original research

Li Y, Tomaszewska W, Arriaga-Varela E, Huang D, Cai C. 2024. An unusual Cretaceous beetle with affinity to Anamorphidae (Coleoptera: Coccinelloidea). PeerJ 12:e18008, DOI:10.7717/peerj.18008

Dlium theDlium

Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil)

Japanese morning glory ( Ipomoea nil ) is a species of plant in the Convolvulaceae family, a climber with twining stems that grow up to 5 meters long. The green, finely hairy leaves are 14 cm long, heart-shaped at the base, entire or 3-5-lobed, tapering at the edges. The flowers are funnel-shaped, blue to reddish-purple with a whitish tube, 5 cm wide and up to 7 cm long. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Convolvulaceae Subfamily: Convolvuloideae Tribe: Ipomoeeae Genus: Ipomoea L. in Sp. Pl.: 159 (1753) Species: Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth in Catal. Bot. 1: 36 (1797) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Convolvuloides triloba Moench in Methodus: 452 (1794) Convolvulus nil L. in Sp. Pl., ed. 2.: 219 (1762) Pharbitis nil (L.) Choisy in Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 6: 439 (1833 publ. 1834) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Convolvulus caeruleus (Roxb. ex Ker-Gawl.) Spreng. in Syst. Veg., ed. 16. 1: 593 (1824) Convolvulus coelestis G.Forst. in Fl. Ins...

Moist pimpernel (Lindernia dubia)

Moist pimpernel ( Lindernia dubia ) is a species of plant in the Linderniaceae. It is a herbaceous, ground-growing, erect, cylindrical stem with red to light brown color. The leaves are green, oval, up to 10 mm long, up to 7 mm wide, with rounded tips and reddish veins. The flowers are funnel-shaped, bluish-white, with yellow veins. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Linderniaceae Genus: Lindernia All. in Auct. Syn. Meth. Stirp. Hort. Regii Taur. 3: 178 (1766) Species: Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell in Monogr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 1: 141 (1935) Variety: Lindernia dubia var. dubia, Lindernia dubia var. rhizomatosa Pennell ex D.Q.Lewis HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Ilysanthes dubia (L.) Barnhart in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 26: 376 (1899) Ilysanthes gratioloides Benth. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 419 (1846) Gratiola dubia L. in Sp. Pl.: 17 (1753) Limnophila dubia (L.) M.R.Almeida in Fl. Maharashtra 3B: 393 (2001)...

Plumeria rubra and Plumeria obtusa, the differences

SPECIES HEAD TO HEAD - The genus frangipani trees ( Plumeria Tourn. ex L.) has only 18 officially recorded species and two very similar species, frangipani ( Plumeria rubra L.) and white frangipani ( Plumeria obtusa L.). Both have the same habitus, flowers and fruits and are difficult to distinguish. The leaves of both species have slightly different shapes. Therefore, the leaves are very important to distinguish the two species, especially the shape of the tip. P. rubra has simple, lanceolate leaves with acute tips. P. obtusa has simple, elliptic leaves with rounded tips. By Aryo Bandoro Founder of Dlium.com . You can follow him on X: @Abandoro . Read more: Plumeria rubra Plumeria obtusa

Dlium