Flat‐footed Females and Missing Males: A New Genus and Species of Pleciofungivoridae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha) Represents the First Record of the Family from Mid‐Cretaceous Kachin Amber

A new genus and species, Cretopleciofungivora simpsoni gen. et sp. nov., from the extinct family Pleciofungivoridae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha), is discovered in mid‐Cretaceous Kachin amber. Previously, this family was known only from imprints in sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic and the Lower Cretaceo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta geologica Sinica (Beijing) 2024-06, Vol.98 (3), p.541-547
Main Authors: ZHANG, Qingqing, KRZEMIŃSKI, Wiesław, ŠEVČÍK, Jan, BLAGODEROV, Vladimir, SOSZYŃSKA, Agnieszka, SKIBIŃSKA, Kornelia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bibionomorpha
Burmese amber
Cretaceous
Diptera
Females
fungus gnats
Jurassic
New genera
New genus
New species
Parthenogenesis
Rare species
Sciaroidea
Sedimentary rocks
swollen tarsomeres
Upper Cretaceous
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Summary:A new genus and species, Cretopleciofungivora simpsoni gen. et sp. nov., from the extinct family Pleciofungivoridae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha), is discovered in mid‐Cretaceous Kachin amber. Previously, this family was known only from imprints in sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic and the Lower Cretaceous. Discovery of a representative of Pleciofungivoridae in Kachin amber confirms the presence of the family in the Upper Cretaceous. The new species has a unique structure of fore tarsus, with lobed and extended tarsal segments II to IV, a feature hitherto known only in a few species of extant Sciaroidea. Although not particularly rare, the new species is currently known only from female specimens. Possible reasons for this phenomenon, very unusual in Sciaroidea, are briefly discussed, including parthenogenesis as a potentially plausible hypothesis.
ISSN:1000-9515
1755-6724
DOI:10.1111/1755-6724.15173