Amber Species Research Articles

Revision of the Holarctic genus Gloma Meigen (Diptera: Empidoidea: Brachystomatidae: Trichopezinae).

The Holarctic genus Gloma Meigen is revised and includes five species (G. fuscipennis Meigen, G. fuscipes Melander, G. luctuosa Melander, G. pectinipes Melander, G. pyricornis Saigusa Sinclair sp. nov.) and two undescribed species from China, presently known only from females. The monotypic Baltic amber genus Palaeoparamesia Meunier is discussed as possibly congeneric with Gloma. The Baltic amber species Gloma hirta Loew is considered a nomen dubium. A lectotype is designated for Gloma luctuosa. All species are described or diagnosed, and their geographic distributions mapped. A World key to the species of Gloma is provided. Phylogenetic placement of the genus, including a possible new relationship with Oreogeton Schiner is considered, and the relationships and zoogeographic history of the species are discussed based on a morphological cladistic analysis.

<p><strong>First Mycetobiinae of the lowermost Eocene Oise amber (France) </strong><strong>(Diptera: Anisopodidae)</strong></p>

The Anisopodidae Knab, 1912 is an ancient family of Diptera, with several extant genera well represented in the Paleogene. It is especially the case for the genus Mycetobia Meigen, 1818, known by several Baltic amber species (Wojton et al., 2019a, b). On the contrary, the extant paleotropical genus Mesochria Enderlein, 1910 is currently known by two fossil species from the Eocene Chinese amber and the Miocene Dominican amber (Grimaldi, 1991; Szadziewski et al., 2016). Here we report the first European species of Mesochria, from the lowermost amber of Oise (France), greatly extending the past distribution of this genus.

Basal Cyclorrhapha in Amber from the Cretaceous and Tertiary(Insecta: Diptera), and Their Relationships: Brachycera in Cretaceous Amber Part IX

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, occuring 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.

New zorapterans (Zoraptera) from Burmese amber suggest higher paleodiversity of the order in tropical forests

Our knowledge of Mesozoic zorapteran diversity is largely acquired from two recent works by Engel and Grimaldi (2002) and Kaddumi (2005), where five new species of the order were described from lower Cretaceous Jordanian and mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Here, we report the occurrence of two additional species, Zorotypus (Octozoros) cenomanianus sp. n., and Z. (s. str.) denticulatus sp. n., in Burmese amber. The former new species shares with Z. nascimbenei Engel & Grimaldi, Z. acanthothorax Engel & Grimaldi, and Z. hudae (Kaddumi) a reduced number of antennomeres (eight), while the latter possesses nine-segmented antennae similar to Z. cretatus Engel & Grimaldi. Both new species are readily separable from known extinct congeners by features of the antenna, nota, wings, and terminal abdominal segments, as well as the spination of the metafemur and metatibia. The discovery of two additional Zorotypus species in Myanmar amber suggests a potentially higher diversity of Burmese zorapterans in tropical forests than currently documented.

Synopsis of extinct Bruchomyiinae (Diptera, Psychodidae) from Burmese, Baltic and Dominican amber, with descriptions of new genera and species

Bruchomyiinae from Burmese, Baltic, and Caribbean amber are revised. Five new species from Baltic, one from Caribbean and three from Burmese amber are described. Based on recently discovered specimens, additional details and corrections for previously described species are provided. Six species from Baltic amber were combined in Hoffeinsodes gen. nov. (Hoffeinsodes obtusa sp. nov., H. bifida sp. nov., H. cubicula sp. nov., H. longicauda sp. nov., H. reducta sp. nov. and H. hoffeinsi (Wagner 2006) comb. nov.), based on the fusion of gonocoxites and hypandrium, and a laterally expanded epandrium with posterolateral lobes. Genus Palaeosycorax Meunier, 1905 is re-validated, with Palaeosycorax inexpetatus (Wagner, 2012) comb. nov. included. Caribbean amber species Boreofairchildia dominicana sp. nov. and B. hennigianus (Schlüter, 1978) comb. nov. are congeneric with extant genus Boreofairchildia Wagner & Stuckenberg, 2016. Three new and two described species from Burmese amber are combined in Palaeoglaesum gen. nov. (Palaeoglaesum quadrispiculatum (Stebner et al., 2015) comb. nov., P. velteni (Wagner, 2012) comb. nov., P. muelleri sp. nov., P. bisulcum sp. nov., P. notandum sp. nov.), based on their small size relative to other Bruchomyiinae, and presence of a Y-shaped aedeagal sclerite. Keys to males of species in particular ambers are provided.

The semi-aquatic pondweed bugs of a Cretaceous swamp.

Pondweed bugs (Hemiptera: Mesoveliidae), considered a sister group to all other Gerromorpha, are exceedingly rare as fossils. Therefore, each new discovery of a fossil mesoveliid is of high interest, giving new insight into their early evolutionary history and diversity and enabling the testing of their proposed relationships. Here, we report the discovery of new mesoveliid material from Spanish Lower Cretaceous (Albian) amber, which is the first such find in Spanish amber. To date, fossil records of this family only include one species from French Kimmeridgian as compression fossils, two species in French amber (Albian-Cenomanian boundary), and one in Dominican amber (Miocene). The discovery of two males and one female described and figured as Glaesivelia pulcherrima Sánchez-García & Solórzano Kraemer gen. et sp. n., and a single female described and figured as Iberovelia quisquilia Sánchez-García & Nel, gen. et sp. n., reveals novel combinations of traits related to some genera currently in the subfamily Mesoveliinae. Brief comments about challenges facing the study of fossil mesoveliids are provided, showing the necessity for a revision of the existing phylogenetic hypotheses. Some of the specimens were studied using infrared microscopy, a promising alternative to the systematic study of organisms preserved in amber that cannot be clearly visualised. The new taxa significantly expand the fossil record of the family and shed new light on its palaeoecology. The fossils indicate that Mesoveliidae were certainly diverse by the Cretaceous and that numerous tiny cryptic species living in humid terrestrial to marginal aquatic habitats remain to be discovered. Furthermore, the finding of several specimens as syninclusions suggests aggregative behaviour, thereby representing the earliest documented evidence of such ethology.

Orchids from the past, with a new species in Baltic amber

Orchids from the past, with a new species in Baltic amber

Youngest representative of the extinct genus Microphorites in the Eocene amber of France (Diptera: Dolichopodidae: Microphorinae).

Prior to the present study, seven species of the fossil microphorine (Dolichopodidae s. lat.) genus Microphorites Hennig, 1971 have been described: Microphorites extinctus Hennig, 1971 (type species), M. oculeus Grimaldi & Cumming, 1999, and M. similis Grimaldi & Cumming, 1999 (all from the Early Cretaceous Lebanese amber), M. deploegi Nel et al., 2004 (from the Early Cretaceous of France), M. utrillensis Peñalver, 2008 (from the Early Cretaceous amber of Spain), M. magaliae Perrichot & Engel, 2014 (from the Late Cretaceous amber of France), M. moravicus Tkoč et al., 2016 (possibly from the Paleogene amber of Moravia) (Hennig 1971; Grimaldi & Cumming 1999; Nel et al. 2004; Arillo et al. 2008; Perrichot & Engel 2014; Tkoč et al. 2016). Based on the dating of these amber species, Microphorites could be among the rare insect genera recorded from both the Cretaceous and the Paleogene. Here we describe Microphorites erikai sp. nov., first accurate Eocene Microphorites from the Oise amber (France), on the basis of a complete female specimen.

An amber double first: a new brochocolein beetle (Coleoptera: Archostemata) from northern Myanmar

The first brochocolein beetle is described from Burmese amber, Brochocoleus caseyi sp. nov., (Insecta: Coleoptera: Archostemata). It is also the first brochocolein in amber to be described from the fossil record; the beetle’s distinctive morphology includes an elongate head combined with a squat body form. Two additional brochocolein species in Burmese amber are briefly discussed, showing that this extinct, mainly late Mesozoic, archaic beetle group was still relatively diverse in the mid-Cretaceous.

Microtomography of the Baltic amber tick Ixodes succineus reveals affinities with the modern Asian disease vector Ixodes ovatus.

BackgroundFossil ticks are extremely rare and Ixodes succineus Weidner, 1964 from Eocene (ca. 44–49 Ma) Baltic amber is one of the oldest examples of a living hard tick genus (Ixodida: Ixodidae). Previous work suggested it was most closely related to the modern and widespread European sheep tick Ixodes ricinus (Linneaus, 1758).ResultsRestudy using phase contrast synchrotron x-ray tomography yielded images of exceptional quality. These confirm the fossil’s referral to Ixodes Latreille, 1795, but the characters resolved here suggest instead affinities with the Asian subgenus Partipalpiger Hoogstraal et al., 1973 and its single living (and medically significant) species Ixodes ovatus Neumann, 1899. We redescribe the amber fossil here as Ixodes (Partipalpiger) succineus.ConclusionsOur data suggest that Ixodes ricinus is unlikely to be directly derived from Weidner’s amber species, but instead reveals that the Partipalpiger lineage was originally more widely distributed across the northern hemisphere. The closeness of Ixodes (P.) succineus to a living vector of a wide range of pathogens offers the potential to correlate its spatial and temporal position (northern Europe, nearly 50 million years ago) with the estimated origination dates of various tick-borne diseases.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0777-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Mesozoic Family Eremochaetidae (Diptera: Brachycera) in Burmese Amber and Relationships of Archisargoidea: Brachycera in Cretaceous Amber, Part VIII

ABSTRACT All 16 species of the family Eremochaetidae occur from the Late Jurassic to the mid-Cretaceous of eastern and Central Asia. The first species in amber, and the latest occurrence of the family, was recently described as Zhenia xiai, from the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar, ca. 100 Ma. New observations of a finely preserved specimen allow refinement of the morphological interpretations in the original description. The female of Zhenia, for example, has the distinctive piercing oviscapt of the superfamily Archisargoidea, formed from modified cerci (not tergites 8 and 9 as originally reported). The pretarsus of Zhenia bears an enormous empodial pad and pair of pulvillae, but the claws are highly vestigial (contra Zhang et al., 2016). The fly was almost certainly a parasitoid. A cladistic analysis of 26 binary-state characters and six continuously variable characters, using 47 exemplar Archisargoidea species from most genera and all four families, and five outgroup Brachycera, has very poor support for mos...

Diverse Orthorrhaphan Flies (Insecta: Diptera: Brachycera) in Amber From the Cretaceous of Myanmar: Brachycera in Cretaceous Amber, Part VII

A remarkable diversity of new nonempidoid orthorrhaphan flies from the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar (Late Albian–Early Cenomanian, ca. 99 Ma) is presented, including 28 species (all but one new) in 22 genera (13 new), and at least 12 families. Two families are new; three genera are unplaced in Tabanomorpha and one unplaced within Brachycera. Comparisons are presented between the amber taxa and extensive lithified taxa from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of eastern Laurasia.In Stratiomyomorpha: A new species of Zhangsolvidae has color patterns and body shape that apparently mimic Vespidae or other stinging aculeate wasps. Diverse new Xylomyidae and Stratiomyidae are described, the latter with male terminalia preserved in detail. In Tabanomorpha: The genus Athericites Mostovski et al. is synonymized with Palaepangonius Ren, and a new species of Galloatherix Nel is described in which the female proboscis is much longer than that of the male. All three genera were attributed to Athericidae, but the amber species reveal they are more basal tabanomorphs. Described are a new genus of stem-group Tabanoidea and a new species of Cratotabanus Martins-Neto and Kucero-Santos (Tabanidae), previously known from the Cretaceous of Brazil and New Jersey. In Nemestrinoidea: Three species of Hirmoneura Meigen are the first Nemestrinidae known from amber; one species has long cerci typical of Recent species of the genus. A new species of the Mesozoic family Rhagionemestriidae reveals this family is closely related to Acroceridae, not Xylophagidae as previously proposed. In Archisargoidea: A new species of Tethepomyiidae is described, the family known only in Cretaceous amber from New Jersey, Spain, and Myanmar. In Asiloidea: Three new species and genera of Bombyliidae are described, two of them with abdominal setal “baskets” distinctive to females of higher bombyliids. A fourth new asiloid genus is a probable stem-group bombyliid. The recently described Pseudorhagio Zhang et al., is transferred from Tabanomorpha to Bombyliidae. The male of a new species of Burmapsilocephala Gaimari and Mostovski (Apsilocephalidae) has terminalia very similar to that of Evocoa (Evocoidae: Recent, Chile), corroborating close relationship of the two families. In Families incertae sedis: A new species of Hilarimorphites Grimaldi and Cumming (Apystomyiidae) is described, the family known only in New Jersey and Burmese amber and the Recent fauna of California, and a sister group to either Cyclorrhapha or Eremoneura. Mysteromyiidae and Eucaudomyiidae, new families, are described, based on highly modified species with vestigial mouthparts, reduced venation, and unique specializations.Discussion is presented on some morphological features in fossil and Recent Brachycera that have apparent phylogenetic significance but are rarely discussed. This study adds further data to the phenotypic diversity, geological history, and biogeography of a major radiation.

A remarkable brachyceran fly (Diptera: Tabanomorpha) from Late Cretaceous Burmese amber

A new brachyceran fly (Diptera: Tabanomorpha), Pseudorhagio zhangi gen. et sp. nov., is described from Late Cretaceous Burmese amber. It is tentatively placed as Family incertae sedis in Tabanomorpha and distinguished from other Tabanomorpha by the following unusual combination of characters: head wider than thorax; body densely covered with fine and short setae, devoid of macrosetae; scutum strongly convex, nearly spherical; scutellum rather small, convex; antennal flagellum elongated, tapering, unsegmented; vein R4 perpendicular to R5, and strongly curved; crossvein m-m very long, strongly sinuated; tibial spur formula 0, 2, 0. This discovery further confirms the high diversity of Tabanomorpha in Late Cretaceous Burmese amber. An updated list of brachyceran species in Burmese amber is given.

FAMILY ANISOPODIDAE.

This considerably small family is poorly known in Colombia, with only two species reported for the genus Sylvicola Harris (1776) so far. We synonymize Neomesochria Amorim & Tozoni (1994) to Mycetobia Meigen (1818), hence transferring the Dominican amber species Neomesochria antillea (Grimaldi 1991) and N. cryptambra (Grimaldi 1991), and the recent Neotropical species N. limanda (Stone 1966) and N. stonei (Lane & d'Andretta 1958) back to the genus Mycetobia. This paper provides new records for Mycetobia and Olbiogaster Osten-Sacken (1886) for Colombia.

Out of the Neotropics: newly discovered relictual species sheds light on the biogeographical history of spider ants (Leptomyrmex, Dolichoderinae, Formicidae)

AbstractSpider ants of the genus Leptomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) are conspicuous species of Australasian rainforests, with putative fossil relatives in the Neotropics and Europe. There is longstanding debate over the biogeographical history of the genus, with the Palaearctic and Neotropical regions proposed as alternate centres of origin. We propose a resolution of this debate with the recent discovery and analysis of an extant species from central Brazil, L. relictus sp.n., which we describe from workers, males and brood. We sequence ten nuclear genes in the new species and in several Australian Leptomyrmex species, and append these data to a 54‐taxon, 10‐gene data matrix previously generated for the subfamily Dolichoderinae. We conduct phylogenetic and divergence dating analyses, and re‐evaluate the fossil record of the group. We recover Leptomyrmex relictus sp.n. as a member of the Leptomyrmex clade with high support. It is sister to the Australasian species, and the genus Leptomyrmex is, in turn, sister to a pair of Neotropical genera, Forelius and Dorymyrmex. We infer a Neotropical origin for the genus and estimate a mid‐Eocene (46 Ma, 95% CI 56 to 36 Ma) origin for the crown genus and an Oligocene origin for the Australasian clade (29 Ma, 95% CI 40 to 19 Ma). We confirm placement of the Dominican amber species †L. neotropicus Baroni Urbani in the genus but reject a close relationship with the Palaearctic fossil taxa †Leptomyrmula Emery and †Usomyrma Dlussky, Radchenko & Dubovikoff, considering them incertae sedis in the subfamily (Dolichoderinae). In contrast to the mesophilic preferences of the Australasian species of Leptomyrmex, the new Brazilian species inhabits cerrado (dry savannah). Our results support a Neotropical origin for spider ants with dispersal to Australia. Rafting on west‐bound currents and/or a historical diversity imbalance between Australia and South America are proposed as alternate hypotheses to explain a pattern of biased E–W mid‐Tertiary dispersal for ants with austral distributions. This pattern is suggested by our results in conjunction with observations of other ant clades. Overall, our findings highlight the value of integrated taxonomy, critical interpretation of morphology, and a comparative phylogenetic framework when conducting palaeontological and biogeographical studies of insect species.This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6E9E6617‐6E53‐40B8‐82C7‐67F89A83C553.

The first Mesozoic microwhip scorpion (Palpigradi): a new genus and species in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar.

A fossil palpigrade is described and figured from mid-Cretaceous (Cenomanian) amber from northern Myanmar. Electrokoenenia yaksha Engel and Huang, gen. n. et sp. n., is the first Mesozoic fossil of its order and the only one known as an inclusion in amber, the only other fossil being a series of individuals encased in Pliocene onyx marble and 94-97 million years younger than E. yaksha. The genus is distinguished from other members of the order but is remarkably consistent in observable morphological details when compared to extant relatives, likely reflecting a consistent microhabitat and biological preferences over the last 100 million years.

Hepatics from Rovno amber (Ukraine), 4. Frullania riclefgrollei, sp. nov

Liverwort inclusions in late Eocene Ukrainian Rovno amber have only been studied recently. Here we describe a fossil species of the extant liverwort genus Frullania based on a single inclusion in a piece of Rovno amber. Frullania riclefgrollei sp. nov. is characterized by leaves with saccate–campanulate watersacs, a small stylus and rounded dorsal lobes with a 1–2 cells wide row of ocelli, deeply bifid underleaves, and possible asexual reproduction by caducous leaves. We differentiate the Rovno fossil from morphologically similar species in Baltic or Bitterfeld amber. The presence of ocelli indicates an affiliation to the extant Frullania subgenus Thyopsiella. This is the first study of an amber inclusion of a liverwort utilizing laser scanning confocal microscopy.

A New Species Of Globicornis (Hadrotoma) (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Megatominae) From Baltic Amber

Abstract The species Globicornis (Hadrotoma) ingelehmannae sp. n. from Baltic amber is described, illustrated and compared with all known amber species of Globicornis Latreille, 1829. New species differs by the shape of antennae and black setation on dorsal and ventral surfaces.

New Species of Anaplecta BURMEISTER, 1838 (Blattaria) from Chiapas Amber, Mexico

Order Blattaria (cockroaches) originated in Late Carboniferous (Brongniart 1885, Zhang et al. 2012) and during its evolution adapted to various environments gaining diverse morphological adaptations including diversification of orders Mantodea (mantises) and Isoptera (termites) during Late Jurrasic/Early Cretaceous (Vrsanský 2002, Vrsanský & Aristov 2014). Generic composition of fossil cockroaches of Cenozoic era is considered modern since with two exceptions (Anisyutkin & Grohn 2012, Vrsanský & Labandeira 2015) it is identical with the generic composition of living species. A new species of genus Anaplecta from Simojovel amber (Mexico: Chiapas), represented by single specimen, is reported herein, coming from Mazantic Shale, stratigraphically positioned right above the Oligocene/Miocene boundary at 23 Ma (Vega et al. 2009). Cockroach, less than 5 mm long, is characterised by slender body, prolonged mouthparts bearing long palpomeres with distinct flattened triangular terminal palpomere, large eyes, and long slender legs with distinctly long tibial spines. Some legand palp segments differ in dimensions on left side and right side of the body, indicating slight dextro-sinistral asymmetry (visualisation includes the first partial visual 3D extraction ). In contrast to Supella miocenica Vrsanský et al. 2011, but in concordance with other Cenozoic amber species, the present cockroach does not show any significantly primitive characters. The genus Anaplecta is cosmopolitan and 10 species live also in Mexico including Chiapas today. The new species is only the second (Vrsanský et al 2011; Ischnoptera Burmeister, 1838 reported by Solorzano-Kraemer 2007) cockroach described from this amber. In addition to indigenous genera mentioned above and those characteristic for America, the present found is the first Cenozoic American occurrence of a living cosmopolitan genus. Supella Shelford, 1911, although known from the Chiapas amber apparently went extinct in Americas and today it is still present in other continents.

New species of the subfamily Cossoninae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Dominican amber

The following new genus and seven new species of Cossonine weevils (Curculionidae: Cossoninae) are described from Dominican amber: Acamptus exilipes Poinar and Legalov, n. sp. (similar to A. rigidus), Caulophilus camptus Poinar and Legalov, n. sp. (similar to C. bennetti), Caulophilus elongatus Poinar and Legalov, n. sp. (similar to C. swensoni), Caulophilus ruidipunctus Poinar and Legalov, n. sp., Dryotribus pedanus Poinar and Legalov, n. sp. (similar to D. amplioculus), Ogygius obrieni Poinar and Legalov, n. gen., n. sp. (similar to the genus Apotrepus), and Stenotrupis pumilis Poinar and Legalov, n. sp. (similar to S. breviscapus). A key to the Dominican amber species of the genus Caulophilus is provided. Based on the extant weevil fauna, it appears that the Hispaniolan Cossonine were more diverse in the Tertiary than at present. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:14D1CFC0-4967-4D22-888B-0DE3E157D6BD