A NEW BEETLE, AFROCUPES FIRMAE GEN ET SP-NOV (PERMOCUPEDIDAE), FROM THE LATE PALEOZOIC WHITEHILL FORMATION OF SOUTH-AFRICA

An extensive array of Permian cupedoid beetles is known from Russia, t he Czech Republic and Slovakia. To date, only one cupedid beetle, Molt enocupes townrowi, from the Triassic Molteno Formation of South Africa and two permocupedidid beetles from the Permian Irati Formation of Br azil have been described. In this account a further permocupedidid bee tle, Afrocupes firmae gen. et sp. nov., from the Permian Whitehill For mation of South Africa, is reported. The Whitehill Formation is the te mporal and lithological correlate of the Irati Formation, and the disc overy of A. firmae, which is the oldest beetle yet found on the Africa n continent, provides further proof of the Parana-Karoo Basin linkage. The paucity of fossil insects from the Whitehill Formation is briefly discussed.