''Protognathinus'' is an extinct genus of
stag beetle
Stag beetles are a family of about 1,200 species of beetles in the family Lucanidae, currently classified in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections ...
from the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
of Europe, known from the
Messel Pit in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
This genus is known from the single species ''P. spielbergi''.
Etymology
The specific name ''spielbergi'' refers to American film director
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
, whose film
Jurassic Park
''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...
the authors considered to have contributed to the revival of interest in the earth's ancient past.
Description
At in total length, ''Protognathinus'' is one of the largest known fossil beetles in the
superfamily
SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...
Scarabaeoidea. It is comparable to other large fossil beetles such as ''
Cheirotonus otai
''Cheirotonus'' is a genus of long-armed scarabs (subfamily Melolonthinae
Melolonthinae is a subfamily of the scarab beetles (family Scarabaeidae). It is a very diverse group; distributed over most of the world, it contains over 11,000 speci ...
'' and ''
Oryctoantiquus borealis''. Like other beetle fossils known from the Messel Pit, ''Protognathinus'' fossils retain the color of the exoskeleton.
The details of the classification within the family are not well understood, and it is sometimes placed in
Lampriminae and sometimes in
Lucaninae
The Lucaninae comprise the largest subfamily of the stag beetles (Lucanidae).
Characteristics include partial to complete division of the eyes by a canthus, geniculate antennae, and distinctly separated coxae. The body is typically elongate ...
. Morphological similarities with early
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
species ''
Litholamprima qizhihaoi'', described from the
Yixian Formation, have been pointed out.
See also
* ''
Maaradactylus spielbergi
''Maaradactylus'' is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous period (Aptian to Albian stages) of the Romualdo Formation of northeastern Brazil.
Discovery
''Maaradactylus'' is based on the Museu Paleonto ...
'' - a species of pterosaur named after Spielberg
References
External links
*
†
Eocene insects
Fossil taxa described in 2001
Fossil beetle genera
Prehistoric insects of Europe
{{paleo-beetle-stub