Antarctotrechus balli is extinct species of ground beetle known from the Miocene of Antarctica, the only species of the genus Antarctotrechus. It belongs to the tribe Trechini, and appears to be closely related to South American and Australian trechines. It was less than a centimeter long, with dark brown elytra, which are the only known parts of the animal. It is thought to have lived in a tundra environment, which included Nothofagus prostrate shrubs, Ranunculus (buttercups) and moss that grew around the banks of a stream on the outwash plain at the head of a fjord.[1]

Antarctotrechus
Temporal range: Miocene20–14 Ma
Fossil specimens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Carabidae
Subfamily: Trechinae
Tribe: Trechini
Genus: Antarctotrechus
Species:
A. balli
Binomial name
Antarctotrechus balli
Ashworth & Erwin, 2016

References

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  1. ^ Ashworth, Allan C.; Erwin, Terry L. (2016). "Antarctotrechus balli sp. n. (Carabidae, Trechini): the first ground beetle from Antarctica". ZooKeys (635): 109–122. doi:10.3897/zookeys.635.10535. PMC 5126512. PMID 27917060.