Haematophagous biting midges of the extant genus Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) evolved during the mid-Cretaceous

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4688 (4) ◽  
pp. 535-548
Author(s):  
RYSZARD SZADZIEWSKI ◽  
PATRYCJA DOMINIAK ◽  
ELŻBIETA SONTAG ◽  
WIESŁAW KRZEMIŃSKI ◽  
BO WANG ◽  
...  

Four new fossil species of haematophagous biting midges of the genus Culicoides Latreille, from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber are described and illustrated: C. bojarskii Szadziewski & Dominiak sp. nov., C. burmiticus Szadziewski & Dominiak sp. nov., C. ellenbergeri Szadziewski & Dominiak sp. nov. and C. myanmaricus Szadziewski & Dominiak sp. nov. These extinct species are assigned to the new subgenus, Groganomyia Szadziewski & Dominiak subgen. nov. which also includes an extant species that inhabits European mountains, Culicoides cameroni Campbell & Pelham-Clinton, 1960, the type species. These very old (99 Ma) haematophagous biting midges of the extant genus Culicoides from Burmese amber supports the hypothesis that most groups of modern biting midges evolved during the mid-Cretaceous greenhouse climate. 

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4560 (1) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHEL ROUX ◽  
MARC ELÉAUME ◽  
NADIA AMÉZIANE

The genus Conocrinus d’Orbigny, 1850 (Crinoidea, Bourgueticrinina) was established on the basis of two aboral cups that had previously been described as Bourgueticrinus thorenti d’Archiac, 1846. One of these (now considered lost) came from the “Rocher du Goulet” at the base of the Biarritz section (Bartonian, Côte des Basques, southwest France). D’Archiac figured only the second cup; this belongs to the d’Orbigny Collection and is still housed in the palaeontological collection of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris) as the lectotype of the species, C. thorenti. It appears that it was collected from Priabonian levels exposed near Castellane (Alpes de Haute Provence, southeast France). New observations on this cup, as well as a detailed study of the characters of aboral cups, columnals and proximal brachials in a few extant and fossil species classically attributed to Conocrinus or to closely related genera such as Democrinus, Rhizocrinus and Tormocrinus, have yielded arguments for a revision of the taxonomy and interrelationships of extant and fossil taxa in the family Bourgueticrinidae. Conocrinus (= Tormocrinus), as here interpreted, includes six Eocene species: C. thorenti, C. archiaci, C. cahuzaci n. sp., C. duperrieri, C. cf. suessi and C. veronensis. Numerous extinct species previously attributed to Conocrinus or Democrinus are here transferred to two new genera which first occur in the lower Paleocene: Paraconocrinus n. gen. (type species: P. pyriformis) and Pseudoconocrinus n. gen. (type species: P. doncieuxi). Aboral cups from the “Rocher du Goulet” (Biarritz) are here assigned to Paraconocrinus pellati n. gen., n. sp., while the Danian species Democrinus maximus is transferred to Pseudoconocrinus n. gen. A new genus, Cherbonniericrinus, is created to accommodate a single extant species, Ch. cherbonnieri, previously attributed to Conocrinus, while the extant genus Rhizocrinus, closely related to Democrinus, is resurrected. Conocrinus and closely related genera are derived from a bourgueticrinine lineage the first record of which is from the lower Campanian, with the new genus Carstenicrinus. These are all attributed to the family Rhizocrinidae which is here considered distinct from the family Bourgueticrinidae. Rhizocrinids rapidly diversified immediately after the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) event. Cretaceous taxa previously placed within the family Bourgueticrinidae now appear to be polyphyletic. Some of them do not belong to Bourgueticrinina, such as those of the Dunnicrinus lineage. Interrelationships of Rhizocrinidae and other post-Palaeozoic families having a xenomorphic stalk are discussed. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
RYSZARD SZADZIEWSKI ◽  
ELŻBIETA SONTAG

The family Corethrellidae, called frog-biting midges, with the single genus Corethrella Coquillett, 1902, is a small group of dipterans including 107 extant species (Borkent, 2017). Females of most species are haematophagous and feed on males of frogs and toads locating them by their calls (Borkent, 2008). Extant frog-biting midges have a pantropical distribution, absent in Europe, north Africa, middle and northern Asia (Giłka & Szadziewski, 2009). The genus during its phylogenetic history dated back to Lower Cretaceous (125–129 Ma) had a broader geographical distribution, and during Eocene was present in Europe. Till now nine fossil species have been described from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber (1), mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (1), Eocene Baltic amber (5) and Miocene Dominican amber (2) (a complete annotated list is provided below). 


1985 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 473 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Dawson ◽  
T Flannery

Historical concepts of the generic status of the macropodines commonly known as kangaroos and wallabies are reviewed in this paper. A new diagnosis is provided for the genus Macropus, encompassing both living and fossil forms, and using cladistic principles to assess the phylogenetic value of diagnostic characters where possible. Cytological, biochemical and anatomical characters are used. Fourteen living and 11 extinct species of Macropus are recognized. Of these, 20 species have been classified into three subgenera, M.(Macropus), M.(Osphranter) and a new subgenus, M.(Notamacropus), as follows: M.(M.) giganteus, M.(M.) fuliginosus, M.(M.) mundjabus, M.(M.) pan, M.(M.) pearsoni and M.(M.) ferragus; M.(O.) antilopinus, M.(O.) bernardus, M.(O.) robustus, M.(O.) rufus and M.(O.) pavana; ,M.(N.) rufogriseus, M.(N.) eugenii, M.(N.) parryi, M.(N.) dorsalis, M.(N.) irma, M.(N.) agilis, M.(N.) greyi, M.(N.) parma, M.(N.) wombeyensis and M.(N) thor. Four poorly known extinct species, M. dryas, M. rama, M. woodsi and M. narada, have not yet been allocated to a subgenus. Prionotemnus palankarinnicus Stirton, 1957 is shown to belong outside Macropus. Because it is the type-species of Prionotemnus, that name is not available for a subgenus of Macropus. A current synonymy is presented for fossil species and the known stratigraphic range is given for each species. A phylogeny is presented expressing our view that M. (,Votamacropus) is the most plesiomorphic subgenus and M. (Macropus) is the most derived.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Jan Ševčík ◽  
Wiesław Krzemiński ◽  
Kornelia Skibińska

Three new species of Paleoplatyura Meunier, 1899, i.e., Paleoplatyura agnieszkae sp. nov., P. miae sp. nov., and P. magnifica sp. nov., are described and figured. The concept of the genus is briefly discussed, and its systematic position is clarified. A key to fossil species is provided. The genus Paleoplatyura is described from the Eocene Baltic amber. It is concluded that, in Baltic amber, this group is represented only by the type species, and the identity of the other two species is problematic. No additional specimens have been found so far in this amber. Therefore, the presence of as many as three new species in Burmese amber, certainly belonging to Paleoplatyura, is a confirmation of its occurrence already in the Mesozoic.


Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4896 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-300
Author(s):  
MAXIM V. NABOZHENKO ◽  
ATHANASIOS MPAMNARAS ◽  
KONSTANTINOS KALAENTZIS

Species of the genus Helopelius Reitter, 1922 (type species: Stenomax aeneipennis Allard, 1876) were known from Rhodes and North Africa. We found that two species described from Rhodes belong to the genus Stenohelops Reitter, 1922, and Helopelius can be interpreted as a subgenus within latter, guided by the article 23.2 of ICZN. The following synonyms are proposed: Helopelius, stat. n. (from genus to subgenus) = Stenomaleis Español, 1957, syn. n.; Stenohelops Reitter, 1922 = Gunarellus Reitter, 1922, syn. n.; Stenohelops (Helopelius) aeneipennis (Allard, 1876) = Helopelius disgregus Reitter, 1922, syn. n., = Gunarus gayirbegi Nabozhenko & Keskin, 2009, syn. n. As a result, the following species are transferred from the former genus Helopelius to the genus Stenohelops: Stenohelops (Helopelius) nodifer (Kraatz, 1880), comb. n.; Stenohelops (Helopelius) otini (Antoine, 1949), comb. n.; Stenohelops (Helopelius) subsinuatus (Antoine, 1951), comb. n.; Stenohelops (Helopelius) verrucosus (Vauloger de Beaupré, 1900), comb. n.; Stenohelops (Helopelius) zaianus (Antoine, 1949), comb. n. Thus, the subgenus Helopelius contains 11 species from three isolated geographical exclaves: Western Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean and China. Lectotypes of Stenomax aeneipennis Allard, 1876, Helops gratus J. Frivaldszky, 1894 and Cylindrinotus (Helopelius) disgregus Reitter, 1922 are designated. Data on fossil species of the genus and the allied extinct taxa, as well as on bionomics of extant species of the subgenus Helopelius are presented. The check-list for extant and extinct species of Stenohelops is given. 


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Juan López-Gappa ◽  
Leandro M. Pérez ◽  
Ana C.S. Almeida ◽  
Débora Iturra ◽  
Dennis P. Gordon ◽  
...  

Abstract Bryozoans with calcified frontal shields formed by the fusion of costae, collectively constituting a spinocyst, are traditionally assigned to the family Cribrilinidae. Today, this family is regarded as nonmonophyletic. In the Argentine Cenozoic, cribrilinids were until recently represented by only two fossil species from the Paleocene of Patagonia. This study describes the first fossil representatives of Jolietina and Parafigularia: J. victoria n. sp. and P. pigafettai n. sp., respectively. A fossil species of Figularia, F. elcanoi n. sp., is also described. The material comes from the early Miocene of the Monte León and Chenque formations (Patagonia, Argentina). For comparison, we also provide redescriptions of the remaining extant species of Jolietina: J. latimarginata (Busk, 1884) and J. pulchra Canu and Bassler, 1928a. The systematic position of some species previously assigned to Figularia is here discussed. Costafigularia n. gen. is erected, with Figularia pulcherrima Tilbrook, Hayward, and Gordon, 2001 as type species. Two species previously assigned to Figularia are here transferred to Costafigularia, resulting in C. jucunda n. comb. and C. tahitiensis n. comb. One species of Figularia is reassigned to Vitrimurella, resulting in V. ampla n. comb. The family Vitrimurellidae is here reassigned to the superfamily Cribrilinoidea. The subgenus Juxtacribrilina is elevated to genus rank. Inferusia is regarded as a subjective synonym of Parafigularia. Parafigularia darwini Moyano, 2011 is synonymized with I. taylori Kuklinski and Barnes, 2009, resulting in Parafigularia taylori n. comb. Morphological data suggest that these genera comprise different lineages, and a discussion on the disparities among cribrilinid (sensu lato) spinocysts is provided. UUID: http://zoobank.org/215957d3-064b-47e2-9090-d0309f6c9cd8


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
YI-TONG SU ◽  
CHEN-YANG CAI ◽  
DI-YING HUANG

Siphonophora hui Jiang et al., 2019, known from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, is the first formally described fossil species of the extant myriapod family Siphonophoridae. Here we re-study this species using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) on the basis of three new specimens from the same deposit. A comparison between the fossil and extant species of Siphonophora is given and several new morphological details are discussed.


Parasitology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. POINAR ◽  
S. R. TELFORD

Paleohaemoproteus burmacis gen. n., sp. n. (Haemospororida: Plasmodiidae) is described from the abdominal cavity of a female biting midge (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) preserved in 100 million year old amber from Myanmar (Burma). The description is based on the developmental stages of oocysts and sporozoites. The fossil species differs from extant species of Haemoproteus by its wide range of oocyst sizes, small sporozoites and occurrence in an extinct species of biting midge. Numerous sporozoites in the abdominal cavity suggest that the biting midge was an effective vector of this malarial parasite. Characters of the biting midge suggest that the host was a large, cold-blooded vertebrate. This is the earliest record of a malaria parasite and first indication that Early Cretaceous reptiles were infected with haemosporidial parasites.


Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1804 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
ART BORKENT

This worldwide biosystematic study of Corethrellidae, with its single genus Corethrella Coquillett, provides a complete compilation of all that is known for the group, both taxonomically and bionomically. Descriptions of each species are based primarily on the adults, summarize all bionomic information, and provide a map showing its distribution. Keys to the species of each region are provided. A total of 97 extant species is recognized, with 52 of these being new. Seven fossil species are described with two of these being new to science. All species, including 13 new synonyms, are cataloged in a table for easy reference. Seven extant species are of uncertain status because of damaged or missing types. Lectotypes and, depending on the species, some paralectotypes, are designated for the following species: C. inepta (Annandale), C. pallitarsis Edwards, C. picticollis Edwards, C. ananacola Dyar, C. calathicola Edwards, and C. brakeleyi (Coquillett). A cladistic analysis interprets most extant and fossil species (some are not interpretable at the present time) and provides the basis for zoogeographic and bionomic interpretation. Worldwide, Corethrella species are found between 50°N and 50°S but most are found between 30°N and 30°S and below 1500 meters in elevation. Because female adults are attracted to the call of male frogs and feed on their blood, species are restricted to areas where there are frogs. Phylogenetic patterns suggest Gondwanan connections for earlier lineages within the genus. At least one lineage has dispersed from the New World to southeast Asia and some species are located on volcanic islands in the Caribbean, indicating further instances of dispersal. It is certain that many more species are yet to be discovered. Phylogenetic patterns indicate that the immatures of Corethrella species have repeatedly moved between ground-dwelling habitats and phytotelmata, with the plesiotypic habitat likely being ground-dwelling. Some lineages have diversified within phytotelmata. Fossil, cladistic and morphological evidence indicates that Corethrella females have been feeding on calling frogs since at least the Early Cretaceous. Females likely hear their frog hosts using the Johnston’s Organ. There is some evidence of host specificity as well as selection of particular biting sites for some species of Corethrella. The females of at least some species of Corethrella transmit Trypanosoma Gruby between calling frogs and this association is also likely an ancient one.Este estudio biosistemático de Corethrellidae a nivel Mundial, con su único género Corethrella, proporciona una completa recopilación de todo lo conocido para el grupo, tanto desde el punto de vista taxonómico como bionómico. Las descripciones de cada especie se realizan primariamente sobre la base de adultos, resumen toda la información bionómica y proveen un mapa donde se muestra su distribución. Se brindan claves para especie de cada región. Se reconoce un total de 97 especies, 52 de las cuales son nuevas. Se describen siete especies fósiles, siendo dos de ellas nuevas para la Ciencia. Para una fácil referencia, todas las especies son catalogadas en una tabla, incluyendo 13 nuevos sinónimos. Debido a que sus tipos se hallan dañados o perdidos, siete especies actuales ostentan un status incierto. De acuerdo a la especie, son designados lectotipos o paralectotipos de las siguientes especies: C. inepta (Annandale), C. pallitarsis Edwards, C. picticollis Edwards, C. ananacola Dyar, C. calathicola Edwards, y C. brakeleyi (Coquillett). El análisis cladístico interpreta la mayoría de las especies actuales y fósiles (algunas no pueden ser interpretadas actualmente) y provee la base para interpretaciones zoogeográficas y bionómicas. Las especies de Corethrella se hallan entre 50°N y 50°S, aunque la mayoría se encuentran entre 30°N y 30°S y por debajo de 1500 metros de elevación. Debido a que las hembras adultas son atraídas por el llamado de ranas macho y se alimentan de su sangre, las especies están restringidas a las áreas donde se hallan ranas. Los patrones filogenéticos sugieren conecciones Gondwánicas para los linajes más antiguos del género. Al menos un linaje se ha dispersado desde el Nuevo Mundo hacia el sudeste de Asia, y algunas especies se hallan en islas volcánicas del Caribe, indicando otras instancias de dispersión. Con seguridad aún quedan muchas más especies por ser descubiertas. Los patrones filogenéticos indican que los inmaduros de las especies de Corethrella se han movido repetidamente entre habitats ubicados a nivel del suelo y fitotelmata, siendo probablemente


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2796 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. TUCKER ◽  
M. J. TENORIO ◽  
P. STAHLSCHMIDT

The conoidean gastropod genus Benthofascis Iredale, 1936 is examined. This genus of Conorbidae has extant species. Three previously described species from the Recent including the type species B. biconica (Hedley), B. sarcinula (Hedley), and B. lozoueti Sysoev & Bouchet are reviewed. Three new species from the Recent, B. conorbioides sp. nov., B. pseudobiconica sp. nov., and B. angularis sp. nov. are described from Australia. One of these (B. angularis) is the first Benthofascis species described from Western Australia. Two fossil species originally described as Conorbis from the Miocene and Oligocene of Australia (C. atractoides Tate and C. otwayensis Long, respectively) are for the first time assigned to Benthofascis, thus extending the geologic record of the genus to the Oligocene.


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