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Issue: Vol. 5497 No. 3: 26 Aug. 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-08-26
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5497.3.8
Page range: 435-443
Abstract views: 241
PDF downloaded: 15

The oldest fossil record of Philopotinae (Diptera: Acroceridae) from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Northern Myanmar

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
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
Diptera Mesozoic Burmese amber Dipterataxonomy

Abstract

A new genus and species of Acroceridae Leach, 1815, Burmophilopota wintertoni gen. et sp. nov., is identified from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, representing the oldest member of Philopotinae Schiner 1868. Based on morphological comparisons, Burmophilopota wintertoni gen. et sp. nov. most likely represents a stem group of the Philopotinae. The new material with well-preserved details of mouthparts and complete wing venation suggests that the new species could possibly be a pollinator for the angiosperms. This finding enhances our understanding of early origin and evolution of pollinating flies during the Mesozoic period.

 

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