Permian beetles are represented mostly by isolated elytra. Taxa based on elytra were essentially natural during the Early and most of the Late Permian, when the process of transformation of the forewing into the elytron continued. Towards the end of the Permian, different lineages of beetles acquired similar elytra, which cannot always be used for reconstruction of the phylogenesis and description of the system. However, assemblages of elytra were demonstrated to be useful tools for illustrating stages of the development of beetle faunas in general. The comparison of successions of beetle assemblages of Sub-Angaraland, Angaraland and Gondwana showed that these successions are homotaxal, and similar stages are most probably synchronous. New beetles, Taldycupes africanus Ponomarenko, sp. n., T. lidgettoniensis Ponomarenko, sp. n. (Taldycupedidae), Rhombocoleites danutae Ponomarenko & Mostovski, sp. n. (Rhombocoleidae), Palademosyne natalensis Ponomarenko, sp. n. (Schizocoleidae), and Permosyne elongata Ponomarenko, sp. n. (Permosynidae), are described from the Upper Permian Volksrust Formation of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

To cite this paper: Ponomarenko, A.G. & Mostovski, M.B. 2005. New beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) from the Late Permian of South Africa. African Invertebrates 46: 253-260.

This paper is cited in:
Ponomarenko A.G. 2006. A new beetle species of the genus Taldycupes (Taldycupedidae, Coleoptera) from the Permian of the Tunguska River basin. Paleontological Journal 40 (3): 295-296. [Abstract]