Mesozoic fossils and the phylogeny of Tipulomorpha (Insecta: Diptera)

Abstract

<p>Tipulomorpha are known back to the Triassic but are very rare in the fossil record of that period. The oldest tipuloid genus, <i>Archilimonia</i> Krzemiński & Krzemińska, 2003, is redescribed based on the type and a new species from the Middle Triassic (early Anisian, 242–247 Ma) of the northern Vosges Mountains, NE France. Male terminalia of Triassic Tipulomorpha are described for the first time: a terminal gonostylus divided into a fleshy setose clasper and a lobe in <i>Archilimonia grauvogeliana</i> sp. nov. The systematic position of <i>Archilimonia</i> is investigated based on morphological characters of both extant and extinct taxa of Tipulomorpha and other infraorders. Our cladistic analysis is congruent with the family-level relationships recovered by the most recent phylogenetic studies of Tipulomorpha, and the position of some extinct taxa is discussed. The divided gonostylus is considered a synapomorphy of Tipuloidea except Pediciidae, so in our analyses we place <i>Archilimonia</i> between Pediciidae and other Tipuloidea (Limoniidae + (Tipulidae + Cylindrotomidae), with two other Triassic tipuloid genera (<i>Mabelysia</i> and <i>Metarchilimonia</i>). The family Tipulidae including the Mesozoic genus <i>Tipunia</i> is monophyletic, so Tipulidae has existed since the Late Jurassic.</p> <p><a href="http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4C0BA500-A928-4C83-ABE1-8B42BB01A803" target="_blank">http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4C0BA500-A928-4C83-ABE1-8B42BB01A803</a></p