Eocene-fossil
Guides
Agaonidae
fig wasps
Agaonidae is a family of minute chalcidoid wasps comprising the pollinating fig wasps, which maintain an obligate mutualism with Ficus species. Females are winged and darkly pigmented, while males are typically wingless and pale. The family has undergone significant taxonomic revision based on molecular phylogenetics, with former subfamilies Epichrysomallinae, Otitesellinae, Sycoecinae, Sycoryctinae, and Sycophaginae excluded and transferred to other families.
Anobiinae
Death-watch Beetles
Anobiinae is a subfamily of beetles in the family Ptinidae, commonly known as death-watch beetles. The subfamily contains at least 45 genera and includes species whose larvae bore into wood, earning them the name "woodworm" or "wood borer." Several species are economically significant pests, notably the common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum), which damages wooden furniture and structural timbers. The subfamily has a cosmopolitan distribution with members native to multiple zoogeographical regions.
Copidita
Copidita is a genus of false blister beetles in the family Oedemeridae, subfamily Oedemerinae. The genus is extant with modern species, and includes at least one fossil species from the Florissant Eocene of Colorado. As members of Oedemeridae, these beetles are characterized by soft, elongated bodies and are commonly associated with flowers and vegetation.
Cymbiodyta
Cymbiodyta is a genus of water scavenger beetles (Hydrophilidae: Enochrinae) comprising 31 described species. The genus exhibits a strikingly disjunct distribution: 28 species occur in the Americas, while only three species inhabit the Palearctic region. A fossil species from Eocene Baltic amber (C. samueli) confirms the genus has persisted in Europe since at least the Eocene, supporting biogeographic reconstructions indicating an ancient Euro-American distribution dating to the Late Cretaceous when land connections existed between North America and Europe.
Ellipteroides
Ellipteroides is a genus of crane flies (Diptera: Limoniidae: Chioneinae) comprising 122 extant species distributed across all biogeographical regions except Australasia. The genus includes five subgenera (Ellipteroides, Progonomyia, Protogonomyia, Ptilostenodes, Ramagonomyia, Sivagonomyia) plus three newly proposed subgenera (Afroellipteroides, Iberiopteroides, Photogonomyia) and a new fossil subgenus Jantares from Eocene Baltic amber. Species are small blackish insects with characteristic yellow thoracic bands and abdominal stripes. The fossil record includes two Eocene species: E. kishenehn from Middle Eocene Montana and E. hansi from Priabonian Baltic amber (38-34 million years ago).
Eudiagogini
Eudiagogini is a tribe of broad-nosed weevils (Curculionidae: Entiminae) comprising approximately 98 extant species in 10 genera, with highest diversity in the Neotropics. The tribe is characterized by distinctive morphological synapomorphies including a cavernous prementum and a metaventrite bearing a spine-like swelling anterior to each metacoxa. Phylogenetic analyses based on morphology and molecular data (COI and ribosomal markers) confirm the monophyly of Eudiagogini, though the genus Chileudius has been excluded and placed as incertae sedis within Entiminae. The tribe has a fossil record in Eocene European amber, indicating a broader historical distribution.
Ismaridae
Ismaridae is a small, relictual family of parasitoid wasps in the order Hymenoptera. The family contains two extant genera: Ismarus, with approximately 50–59 described species worldwide, and the fossil genus Lubomirus from Eocene amber. All species with known biology are hyperparasitoids that parasitize Dryinidae, which are themselves parasitoids of leafhoppers, planthoppers, and treehoppers. Formerly classified as a subfamily of Diapriidae, Ismaridae was elevated to family status based on distinct morphological differences, particularly the absence of a facial projection for antennal insertion and variable fusion of metasomal terga.
Lestremia
Lestremia is a genus of non-biting midges in the family Cecidomyiidae, established by French entomologist Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart in 1826. The genus contains 18 described species distributed across multiple continents including Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Species in this genus are placed in the subfamily Lestremiinae and tribe Lestremiini. The genus includes both extant species and fossil species known from Eocene amber.
Nausibius
Nausibius is a genus of silvanid flat bark beetles in the family Silvanidae. The genus is cosmopolitan with extant representatives worldwide. A fossil species, Nausibius radchenkoi, has been described from Eocene Rovno amber, confirming the genus originated at least 34 million years ago and was present in European forest ecosystems. Extant species are frequently associated with stored food products, particularly sugar.
Pimplinae
Pimplinae is a worldwide subfamily of parasitoid wasps within Ichneumonidae. Members are primarily parasitoids of Holometabola, especially Lepidoptera pupae, with some species attacking spider egg sacs and adults. The subfamily includes 72 genera organized into four tribes: Delomeristini, Ephialtini, Pimplini, and Theroniini. Species are generally sturdy black wasps with orange markings and possess a diagnostic box-like first tergite with the spiracle positioned anterior to the middle.