Abstract
We describe Cretobibio montsecensis, gen. et sp. nov. based on two female specimens from the Lower Cretaceous of Montsec, Spain. The new genus would key to the subfamily Pleciinae based on the presence of a short vein R2+3 and slender legs. However, some characters suggest an affinity with Bibioninae, notably the weakening of R2+3, the oblique crossvein R-M, crossvein M-Cu connected to M2 rather than the stem of M, and the shortened fore legs. We suggest this species is best considered as representing a new subfamily, Cretobibioninae subfam. nov., as sister group of Bibioninae.
References
Ansorge, J. (1991) Zur Sedimentologie und Paläontologie des unterkretazischen Plattenkalkaufschlusses «La Cabrua» (Sierra del Montsec; Provinz Lerida/NE-Spanien) unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der fossilen Insekten. Diplomarbeit, Ernst Moritz Arndt-Universität, Greifswald, 83+9 pp.
Ansorge, J. (1993) Bemerkenswerte Lebensspuren und? Cretosphex catalunicus n. sp. (Insecta; Hymenoptera) aus den unterkretazischen Plattenkalken der Sierra del Montsec (Provinz Lerida, NE-Spanien). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen, 190, 19–35.
Ansorge, J. (1996) Insekten aus dem oberen Lias von Grimmen (Vorpommern, Norddeutschland). Neue Paläontologische Abhandlungen, 2, 1–132.
Ansorge, J. & Krzeminski, W. (1995) Revision of Mesorhyphus Handlirsch, Eoplecia Handlirsch and Heterorhyphus Bode (Diptera: Anisopodomorpha, Bibionomorpha) from the Upper Liassic of Germany. Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 69, 167–172.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02985982
Barale, G. (1995) The fossil flora megarests and microrests. In: Martínez-Delclòs, X. (Ed.), Montsec & Montral-Alcover. Two Konservat-Lagerstätten Catalonia, Spain. Lérida, pp. 31–38.
Blagoderov, V.A. (1998) New Bibionomorpha from the Triassic of Australia and Jurassic of Central Asia with notes on Paraxymyiidae Rohdendorf (Insecta, Diptera). Proceedings of the First International Palaeoentomological Conference, Moscow, 1998, 11–15.
Blagoderov, V.A., Grimaldi, D.A. & Fraser, N.C. (2007) How time flies for flies: diverse Diptera from the Triassic of Virginia and early radiation of the order. American Museum Novitates, 3572, 39 pp.
https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0082(2007)509[1:HTFFFD]2.0.CO;2
Blagoderov, V.V. & Martinez-Delclos, X. (2001) Two new fungus gnats (Insecta, Diptera, Mycetophilidae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain. Geobios, 34 (1), 63–67.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-6995(01)80045-0
Evenhuis, N.L. (2014) Catalogue of the fossil flies of the world (Version 2.0).
http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/fossilcat/
Fitzgerald, S.J. (2004) Evolution and classification of Bibionidae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha). PhD thesis, Oregon State University, 385 pp.
Fregenal-Martínez, M. & Meléndez, N. (1995) Geological setting. In: Martínez-Delclòs, X. (Ed.), Montsec & Montral-Alcover. Two Konservat-Lagerstätten Catalonia, Spain, pp. 12–24.
Goloboff, P.A. & Catalano, S.A. (2016) TNT version 1.5, including a full implementation of phylogenetic morphometrics. Cladistics, 32, 221–238.
https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12160
Gomez, B., Daviero-Gomez, V., Coiffard, C., Martín-Closas C. & Dilcher, D.L. (2015) Montsechia, an ancient aquatic angiosperm. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112 (35), 10985–10988.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1509241112
Gradstein, F.M., Ogg, J.G., Schmitz, M. & Ogg, G. (2012) The geologic time scale 2012. 2 vols. Elsevier, Oxford, 1,176 pp.
https://doi.org/10.1127/0078-0421/2012/0020
Grambast, L. (1968) Evolution of the utricle in the Charophyte genera Perimneste Harris and Atopochara Peck. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany, 61 (384), 5–11.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.1968.tb00099.x
Grimaldi, D.A. (1990) Insects from the Santana Formation, Lower Cretaceous, of Brazil. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 195, 1–191.
http://hdl.handle.net/2246/943
Haywood, A.M., Valdes, P.J. & Markwick, P.J. (2004) Cretaceous (Wealden) climates: a modelling perspective. Cretaceous Research, 25, 303–311.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2004.01.005
Lin, X., Shih, C. & Ren, D. (2014) Two new species of Mesoplecia (Insecta: Diptera: Protopleciidae) from the late Middle Jurassic of China. Zootaxa, 3838 (5), 545–556.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3838.5.3
Martín-Closas, C. & López-Móron, N. (1995) The charophyte flora. In: Martínez-Delclos, X. (Ed.) Montsec & Montral-Alcover. Two Konservat-Lagerstätten Catalonia, Spain, 29–31.
Martínez-Delclòs, X. (1995) The brief history of Montsec lithographic limestones. In: Martínez-Delclòs, X. (Ed.), Montsec & Montral-Alcover. Two Konservat-Lagerstätten Catalonia, Spain, 11.
Merz, B. & Haenni, J.-P. (2000) Morphology and terminology of adult Diptera (other than terminalia), pp. 21–51. In: Papp, L. & Darvas, B. (Eds), Contributions to a manual of Palaearctic Diptera. Vol. 1, General and Applied Dipterology. Science Herald, Budapest, 978 pp.
Mostovski, M.B. (1999) A brief review of brachycerous flies (Diptera, Brachycera) in the Mesozoic, with descriptions of some curious taxa. Proceedings of the First Palaeoentomological Conference, Moscow 1998, 103–110.
Mostovski, M.B. & Martínez-Delclòs, X. (2000) New Nemestrinoidea (Diptera: Brachycera) from the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous of Eurasia, taxonomy and palaeobiology. Entomological Problems, 31, 137–148.
Mostovski, M.B., Jarzembowski, E.A., Coram, R.A. & Ansorge, J. (2000) Curious snipe-flies (Diptera: Rhagionidae) from the Purbeck of Dorset, the Wealden of the Weald and the Lower Cretaceous of Spain and Transbaikalia. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 111 (2), 153–160.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7878(00)80005-X
Penney, D. & Jepson, J.E. (2014) Fossil insects. An introduction to palaeoentomology. Siri Scientific Press, Manchester, 222 pp.
Peterson, B.V. (1975) A new Cretaceous bibionid from Canadian amber (Diptera, Bibionidae). The Canadian Entomologist, 107, 711–715.
https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent107711-7
Pinto, L.G. & Amorim, D. de S. (2000) Bibionidae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha). Morfologia e Análise filogenética. Holos, Ribeirão Preto, 98 pp.
Rayner, R.J. (1987) March flies from an African Cretaceous springtime. Lethaia, 20, 123–127.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3931.1987.tb02029.x
Rohdendorf, B.B. (1962) Order Diptera. Osnovy Paleontologii. Tom 9: Chlenistonogie, Trakheinye i Khelitserovye. Izdatel’stvo Akademii Nauk SSSR, Moscow, pp. 307–344.
Ševčik, J., Kaspřák, D., Mantič, M., Fitzgerald, S., Ševčiková, T., Tóthová, A., & Jaschhof, M. (2016) Molecular phylogeny of the megadiverse insect infraorder Bibionomorpha sensu lato (Diptera). PeerJ4, e2563.
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2563
Skartveit, J. (2009) Fossil Hesperinidae and Bibionidae (Diptera: Bibionoidea) from Baltic amber. Studia Dipterologica, 15, 3–42.
Skartveit, J. & Nel, A. (2017) Revision of Bibionidae (Diptera) from French Oligocene deposits. Zootaxa, 4225 (1), 1–83.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4225.1.1
Skartveit, J. & Wedmann, S. (2015) Fossil Bibionidae (Insecta: Diptera) from the Eocene of Grube Messel, Germany. Studia Dipterologica, 22 (1), 77–83.
Skartveit, J. & Willassen, E. (1996) Phylogenetic relationships in Bibioninae (Diptera, Bibionidae). In: Skartveit, J.: Studies on the systematics and life histories of Bibioninae (Diptera, Bibionidae). Doctor Scientiarum (Ph. D.) thesis, Institute of Zoology, University of Bergen, Norway, 283 pp.
Soriano, C., Gratshev, V.G. & Martínez-Delclòs, X. (2006) New Early Cretaceous weevils (Insecta, Coleoptera, Curculionoidea) from El Montsec, Spain. Cretaceous Research, 27, 555–564.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2005.10.015
Szwedo, J. & Ansorge, J. (2015) The first Mimarachnidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) from Lower Cretaceous lithographic limestones of the Sierra del Montsec in Spain. Cretaceous Research, 52, 390–401.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.001
Whalley, P.E.S. & Jarzembowski, E.A. (1985) Fossil insects from the lithographic limestone of Montsech (Late Jurassic—Early Cretaceous), Lerida Province, Spain. Bulletin of British Museum of Natural History, 38 (5), 381–412.
https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.5051
Zhang, J.F. (2007) New Mesozoic Protopleciidae (Insecta: Diptera: Nematocera) from China. Cretaceous Research, 28, 289–296.