''Kachinus'' is an extinct genus of

ant-like stone beetle Scydmaeninae are a subfamily of small beetles, commonly called ant-like stone beetles or scydmaenines. These beetles occur worldwide, and the subfamily includes some 4,500 species in about 80 genera. Established as a family, they were reduced i ...

in the family

Staphylinidae The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, the ...

containing the single species ''Kachinus antennatus''.

History and classification

The type species, ''K. antennatus'', is known from only the holotype, a single, complete adult, now deposited in the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

as specimen number "AMNH Bu-113". The amber specimen is from deposits in

Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...

, Tanai Village, northwest of Myitkyina, Myanmar. The holotype was first studied by

Stylianos Chatzimanolis Stylianos of Paphlagonia (Latin: ''Stylianus'', Greek: ''Στυλιανός'', English: ''Stylian''), also known as Stylianos the Hermit, is venerated as a saint from Adrianopolis in the province of Paphlagonia (modern Turkey). Life Styliano ...

of the University of Tennessee,

Michael Engel Michael S. Engel, FLS, FRES (born September 24, 1971) is an American paleontologist and entomologist, notable for contributions to insect evolutionary biology and classification. In connection with his studies he has undertaken field expedit ...

of the University of Kansas, and Alfred Newton of the

Field Museum The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

. Chatzimanolis, Engel and Newton published their 2010

type description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

for ''K. antennatus'' in the journal ''

Cretaceous Research ''Cretaceous Research'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier. The journal focuses on topics dealing with the Cretaceous period and the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. Abstracting and indexing The journal is abst ...

''. The genus name is a masculine derivation of the

in Northern Myanmar where the amber containing the type specimen was unearthed. The species name ''antennatus'' is Latin, signifying "

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

ed". The second species, ''K. magnificus'', was described from the Albian amber from Spain; however, this species was subsequently made the type species of a separate genus '' Archeutheia'' by Jałoszyński & Peris (2016).

Description

The beetle is small, only long, possessing a light brown body with yellowish brown legs, antennae, and head. ''Kachinus'' has a unique combination of characters found in both the Cephennini and Eutheiini tribes of the

Scydmaeninae Scydmaeninae are a subfamily of small beetles, commonly called ant-like stone beetles or scydmaenines. These beetles occur worldwide, and the subfamily includes some 4,500 species in about 80 genera. Established as a family, they were reduced in ...

supertribe Scydmaenitae. Elytra and pronotum which are not clearly discontinuous and a head which does not have a narrowed area from the vertex to the occiput are features found in the modern Cephennini genera. However the overall pronotum shape and body shape combined with shortened elytra are distinct features of Eutheiini. It is noted that with the distinctly elevated mesosternal keel ''Kachinus'' is similar in appearance to the modern genus '' Paraneseuthia''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6344698 Staphylinidae genera Fossil beetle genera Cretaceous insects Fossil taxa described in 2010 Cretaceous insects of Asia Burmese amber Fossils of Myanmar