A new species of Loricera Latreille from Eocene Baltic amber (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Loricerinae)

Loricerinae is a small, distinctive subfamily of ground beetles, comprising only one genus Loricera Latreille. Only one fossil species is known to date. Here, we describe a new species, Loricera groehni sp. nov., belonging to Loricera based on a well-preserved adult in Eocene Baltic amber. Loricera groehni is tentatively attributed to the obsoleta group of the subgenus Loricera s.str. based on the relatively long antennomere 3 and punctate elytral interval 7. The discovery of a new species morphologically close to the extant Loricera species from western China and northern India suggests that the obsoleta group was more widespread in the Eocene than it is at present. The distribution pattern of Chinese Loricera is probably relictual. The fossil species, possessing conspicuous stiff setae on the basal antennomeres, was probably a specialized predator of springtails.