Libanopsinae, new subfamily of the family Sphindidae (Coleoptera, Cucujoidea) from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber, with remarks on using confocal microscopy for the study of amber inclusions

The present study provides a description of a new subfamily Libanopsinae subfam. nov. with the new genus Libanopsis gen. nov. and five new species (L. poinari sp. nov., L. impexa sp. nov., L. limosa sp. nov., L. straminea sp. nov., L. slipinskii sp. nov.) from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber. This extinct subfamily is rather isolated from other subfamilies of the family Sphindidae and shares many external structural features with the extant families Sphindidae and Protocucujidae). The systematic position of the new fossils is discussed and key to species is proposed. It was shown that the confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is a powerful method for surface reconstruction and studying tiny elements of bioinclusions in amber (especially arthropod exoskeletons). The quality of CLSM images drastically depends on the medium used for mounting specimens: epoxy resin totally masks the signal from the inclusion under examination, whereas samples prepared Canada Balsam are highly appropriate for CLSM study.