Three new species of entimine weevils in Early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Background: Using syntactic and semantic conventions of the taxonomic concept approach (Franz et al. 2015), we describe three newly recognized fossil broad-nosed weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae) preserved in Early Miocene amber (ca. 20.4-16.0 mya) from the Dominican Republic: sec. Franz & Zhang (2017) (henceforth abbreviated as [FZ2017]), [FZ2017], and [FZ2017]. The taxonomic assignment of the amber inclusions is grounded in a preceding phylogenetic analysis by Franz (2012). As many as 88 of the 143 therein identified characters were coded for the fossils, whose traits are largely congruent with those present in extant congeners while also differing in ways that justify their new nomenclatural and taxonomic status.

New Information: We present detailed images, descriptions, and phylogenetically informed diagnoses for the three new species-level entities, along with logically consistent Region Connection Calculus (RCC-5) alignments of the amended genus-level classifications for Franz and Girón 2009 [FZ2017], Schoenherr 1823 [FZ2017], and Schoenherr 1823 [FZ2017] - in relation to 2-4 preceding classifications published in 1982-2012. The description of [FZ2017] from Hispaniola is indicative of a more widespread historical range of [FZ2017] than reflected in the extant, southwestern Puerto Rican Franz and Girón 2009 sec. Franz and Girón (2009). The presence of [FZ2017] in Hispaniola during the Early Miocene suggests an eastward directed process of island colonization and likely speciation of members of [FZ2017], given that most extant relatives occur throughout the Lesser Antilles. The herein presented data will facilitate more reliable reconstructions of historical biographic processes thought to have played a prominent role in the diversification of the West Indian and Neotropical mainland broad-nosed weevil lineages.