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Issue: Vol. 7 No. 2: April 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-04-19
DOI: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.7.2.11
Page range: 277-283
Abstract views: 1
PDF downloaded: 0

A new genus and species of Apsilocephalidae (Asiloidea) with elongated mouthparts from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China; Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 20013-7012, USA
College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
Asiloidea Insecta Diptera mid-Cretaceous mouthpart feeding habit

Abstract

A new genus and species, Creapsilocephala nagatomii gen. et sp. nov. assigned to the enigmatic family Apsilocephalidae, was described from Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The details of mouthpart structures in the new species are well preserved, revealing the non-piercing mouthparts that comprise an elongated labrum and tube-like hypopharynx, a pair of slender pointed laciniae, one-segmented palp, and prolonged labium. According to the analysis of mouthpart features, the food tube of the new species is constituted by the labrum and hypopharynx, which supports a nectar-feeding habit. This new finding enriches the species diversity of Cretaceous Apsilocephalidae and enhances the knowledge of the early biological features in this family.

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