The fossil record of weevils and related beetle families (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea)

A brief review of the present state of palaeontological knowledge on the superfamily Curculionoidea is presented. The taxonomic position of Triassic weevil-like beetles is disputable. The oldest diverse weevil fauna known from the Upper Jurassic reflects an early stage of radiation of lineages ancestral for modern primitive weevil families. An extensive radiation of more advanced families occurred mainly in the Cretaceous, most of modern subfamilies existed in the Early Tertiary, and the main radiation of living tribes in Curculionidae was probably in the Oligocene and Miocene. The robustness of palaeontological data on the weevil history is discussed. The new combination Pseudaspidapion khnzoriani is proposed for Apion khnzoriani ZHERIKHIN 1971, from the Baltic amber.