Abstract

Four new species of carabid beetle—Harpalus mckayi sp. n., Harpalus mnguni sp. n., Harpalus nkqwili sp. n., and Harpalus peteni sp. n.—are described using relatively well-preserved compression fossils from an Upper Cretaceous lacustrine rock deposit at the Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana. All the fossils are assigned in the extant subfamily Harpalinae based on key diagnostic characters, including the general habitus, mandibular scrobe without seta, elongated scutellum, and spiny mesotibia. They are assigned in genus Harpalus due to the following characters: glabrous habitus, hairless eyes, and narrow epilobes of mentum. Notably, all the fossils reported in this study can also be compared with members of the genera Cratognathus, Dichaetochilus, Heterohyparpalus, Aulocoryssus, Acupalpus, Egadroma, and many other genera. Harpalus mckayi sp. n. has unusual two supraorbital pits (instead of only one) located above each eye. Harpalus mnguni sp. n. and H. nkqwili sp. n. are rather similar; but H. mnguni sp. n. has elongated palps and slender antennomeres, whereas H. nkqwili sp. n. has a unique postorbital constriction. Harpalus peteni sp. n. differs by the shape of the eyes and anterior margins. The Harpalinae have been remarkably conservative in their evolution since the Cretaceous and possibly even longer. All of the fossils consolidate the widely documented diversity and widespread distribution of the Carabidae in the Cretaceous and in the Mesozoic at large.