Brachycera in Cretaceous amber, part 9.

97 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm.Diverse new basal (aschizan) Cyclorrhapha fossilized in amber are described from the Tertiary and Cretaceous, and their relationships are examined with character-based phylogenetic hypotheses for each family or family group. There are 18 new species in 15 genera (11 of them new) and four families plus the Syrphoidea. Fossils are from the Early Cretaceous of Lebanon, Late Cretaceous of New Jersey (United States) and Alberta (Canada), Eocene of the eastern Baltic coast, and Miocene of the Dominican Republic, but predominantly from the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar. Stem-group Lonchopteroidea are Alonchoptera lebanica, n. gen., n.sp., and Lonchopterites burmensis, n. sp. Platypezidae include the stem groups Burmapeza radicis, n. gen., n. sp., Canadopeza biacrosticha, n. gen., n. sp., and Calvopeza divergens, n. gen., n. sp. An unnamed Microsania sp. is the first definitive Platypezidae in Baltic amber; Lebanopeza azari, n. gen., n. sp., is a stem group to the Microsaniinae and Melanderomyiinae. Chandleromyia anomala, n. gen., n. sp., is an anomalously derived Platypezinae from the Cretaceous, and two new species of the diverse Recent genus Lindneromyia are in Dominican amber (L. neomedialis and L. dominicana). Fossils of the relict family Ironomyiidae (with 3 living species from eastern Australia) include two stem-group genera with two new species each, all in Burmese amber: Palaeopetia dorsalis and P. terminus, Proironia (n. gen.) gibbera and P. burmitica. All other species of Palaeopetia are compression fossils from the Cretaceous of Asia and Eurasia. For Phoridae, a new defining feature is a stridulatum on the procoxa and profemur in both sexes, occu[r]ring in most fossil taxa where observable. New sciadocerines include Eosciadocera pauciseta, n. sp., a very large species in Baltic amber, and two stem groups in Burmese amber, Prophora dimorion, n. gen., n. sp., and a very small, undescribed taxon. Archiphora pria Grimaldi and Cumming in Turonian-aged New Jersey amber is transferred to Hennigophora Brown, based on evidence from a new specimen. Prioriphorinae (not taxonomically treated here) is a paraphyletic, Cretaceous grade to the very diverse, crown-group radiation of Euphorida that occurred in the Cenozoic. Two syrphoids occur in Burmese amber: Prosyrphus thompsoni, n. gen., n. sp. (an apparent stem group to the Syrphidae), and Aschizomyia burmensis, n. gen., n. sp. (with more ambiguous affinities). Several immatures of undetermined family are reported, one a probable phorid larva. No definitive Schizophora are yet known from the Cretaceous

Specialized Myrmecophily at the Ecological Dawn of Modern Ants

Myrmecophiles—species that depend on ant societies—include some of the most morphologically and behaviorally specialized animals known [1]. Remarkable adaptive characters enable these creatures to bypass fortress-like security, integrate into colony life, and exploit abundant resources and protection inside ant nests [2, 3]. Such innovations must result from intimate coevolution with hosts, but a scarcity of definitive fossil myrmecophiles obscures when and how this lifestyle arose. Here, we report the earliest known morphologically specialized and apparently obligate myrmecophile, in Early Eocene (∼52 million years old) Cambay amber from India. Protoclaviger trichodens gen. et sp. nov. is a stem-group member of Clavigeritae, a speciose supertribe of pselaphine rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) heavily modified for myrmecophily via reduced mouthparts for trophallaxis with worker ants, brush-like trichomes that exude appeasement compounds, and fusions of many body and antennal segments [4, 5]. Protoclaviger captures a transitional stage in the evolutionary development of this novel body plan, most evident in its still-distinct abdominal tergites. The Cambay paleobiota marks one of the first occurrences in the fossil record of a significant presence of modern ants [6]. Protoclaviger reveals that sophisticated social parasites were nest intruders throughout, and probably before, the ascent of ants to ecological dominance, with ancient groups such as Clavigeritae primed to radiate as their hosts became increasingly ubiquitous

Kumar Krishna, in appreciation

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.pensoft.net.Not applicabl

New mid-Cretaceous earwigs in amber from Myanmar (Dermaptera)

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from https://journals.ku.edu/index.php/paleoent/article/view/4676.Two new genera and species of mid-Cretaceous earwigs are described and figured from Burmese (Myanmar) amber. Zigrasolabis speciosa Engel & Grimaldi, new genus and species, is represented by a series of females in a single, large piece of amber. Toxolabis zigrasi Engel & Grimaldi, new genus and species, is based on a single male. Two first-instar nymphs in the same piece as T. zigrasi may represent early stadia for this species. In addition, two further morphospecies of isolated nymphs are recorded. Both of the described genera belong to the Neodermaptera (Zigrasolabis a labidurine, Toxolabis likely an anisolabidine) but can be excluded from the Eudermaptera clade, the latter of which likely originated and diversified in the Early Tertiary or latest Cretaceous

Phylogeny and Geological History of the Cynipoid Wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea)

The geological history of the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea is reviewed, with the description of various new taxa, being mostly in Late Cretaceous amber from New Jersey and Canada. The various fossil lineages are incorporated into a phylogenetic analysis of the superfamily, and their implications for understanding the evolution of the group are explored. The following new taxa or taxonomic changes are proposed (authorship of all taxa is Liu and Engel): Protimaspidae, new family; Stolamissidae, new family; Stolamissus, new genus; Stolamissus mirabilis, new species; Proliopterinae, new subfamily; Proliopteron, new genus; Proliopteron redactus, new species; Goeraniinae, new subfamily; Goerania, new genus; Goerania petiolata, new species; Micropresbyteria, new genus; Micropresbyteria caputipressa, new species; Anteucoila, new genus; Anteucoila delicia, new species; Jerseucoila, new genus; Jerseucoila plesiosoma, new species; Syneucoila, new genus; Syneucoila magnifica, new species; Tanaoknemus, new genus; Tanaoknemus ecarinatus, new species; Kinseycynips, new genus; Kinseycynips succinea (Kinsey), new combination. The extinct family Rasnicynipidae is newly transferred to Figitidae and classified as a basal subfamily therein (Rasnicynipinae, status novus). The Gerocynipidae, its type genus Gerocynips, and the type species upon which they are founded, Gerocynips zherichini, are found to be nomenclaturally unavailable. Gerocynips zherichini is regarded as a nomen nudum; the genus as newly validated is Gerocynips, new genus (with G. siberica Kovalev as type species); and the family as validated is Gerocynipidae, new family. The fossil records of Cynipoidea are summarized

Morphological stasis in the first myxomycete from the Mesozoic, and the likely role of cryptobiosis

Myxomycetes constitute a group within the Amoebozoa well known for their motile plasmodia and morphologically complex fruiting bodies. One obstacle hindering studies of myxomycete evolution is that their fossils are exceedingly rare, so evolutionary analyses of this supposedly ancient lineage of amoebozoans are restricted to extant taxa. Molecular data have significantly advanced myxomycete systematics, but the evolutionary history of individual lineages and their ecological adaptations remain unknown. Here, we report exquisitely preserved myxomycete sporocarps in amber from Myanmar, ca. 100 million years old, one of the few fossil myxomycetes, and the only definitive Mesozoic one. Six densely-arranged stalked sporocarps were engulfed in tree resin while young, with almost the entire spore mass still inside the sporotheca. All morphological features are indistinguishable from those of the modern, cosmopolitan genus Stemonitis, demonstrating that sporocarp morphology has been static since at least the mid-Cretaceous. The ability of myxomycetes to develop into dormant stages, which can last years, may account for the phenotypic stasis between living Stemonitis species and this fossil one, similar to the situation found in other organisms that have cryptobiosis. We also interpret Stemonitis morphological stasis as evidence of strong environmental selection favouring the maintenance of adaptations that promote wind dispersal.Peer reviewe