Lutago nanus
Lutago nanus
Summary
Lutago nanus was an exceptionally small early Eocene weevil, with the nearly complete holotype only about 2.35 mm long. Like other curculionids, it was almost certainly plant-feeding. A life on or in woody vegetation is plausible for this London Clay lineage, but no host plant or feeding trace is preserved.
The holotype preserves much more of the body than is usual for the genus, while most additional specimens are hindbodies. Its strongly sculptured cuticle is therefore well documented, but the exact way the animal fed, developed or used vegetation remains unknown.
Quick Identification
Look for: a minute weevil around 2.35 mm long with the pronotum narrowing towards the front, coarse deep punctures on the pronotum and ventral hindbody, and elytral rows that are very coarsely punctured at the base but become noticeably finer towards the apex. The sutural row contains about eighteen punctures.
Diagnostic Features
- Pronotum and ventral hindbody bear coarse deep punctures spaced at roughly their own diameter.
- Elytral strial punctures are very coarse on the basal half and become progressively smaller towards the apex.
- Sutural elytral stria contains about eighteen punctures, while the intervals carry only fine sparse punctures.
- Pronotum narrows anteriorly and is widest near the posterior angles, with a width of about 0.85 mm against a median length of about 0.5 mm in the holotype.
- Basal margin of the pronotum is sinuate and carries a broad rounded median projection.
Fossil Details
Similar Species
Recorded Fossil Sites
No fossil-site occurrences have yet been recorded for this species.
References
- Britton, E. B. (1960). Beetles from the London clay (Eocene) of Bognor Regis, Sussex. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology, 4(2), 27–50 View reference
- Legalov, A. A. (2020). Fossil History of Curculionoidea (Coleoptera) from the Paleogene. Geosciences, 10(9), 358 View reference