Phlebotomites cf. aphoe Stebner et al. 2015

Taxonomy

Sandfly

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda Latreille 1829
Class: Insecta Linnaeus 1758
Order: Diptera Linnaeus 1758
Family: Psychodidae Newman 1834
Genus: Phlobotomites
Species: Phlebotomites cf. aphoe
Author Citation Stebner et al. 2015

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Mesozoic
Period: Cretaceous
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Late
International Age: Cenomanian (earliest)

Stratigraphy

unknown formation

Provenance

Acquired by: Purchase/Trade

Dimensions

Length: 1 mm

Location

Hkamti mine
Hkamti (District)
Sagaing (Region)
Burma

• burma
• cennomanian
• cretaceous
• myanmar
• phlebotomites

Comments

The wing tips and the terminalia are not completely preserved, a 100% sure determination is probably not possible. An assignment into the affinity of P. aphoe (hence P. cf. aphoe) seems nevertheless possible.

Taxonomy from fossilworks.org.

Diagnosis for the genus Phlobotomites in Stebner et al. 2015, p. 18: "Eyes without eye bridge; mouthparts well developed; first flagellomere long; last palpomere shorter or equal to the preceding one; wing with a broad distal half and broadly rounded tip; Rs four branched; R2 and R3 separated; origin of R4 apical to origin of R5; male terminalia phlebotomine-like."

Diagnosis for P. aphoe  in Stebner et al. 2015, p. 19:"A small phlebotomine species characterized by the wing branching pattern, as compared with other described species of Phlebotomites."

Line drawing by Stebner et al. 2015, p. 19:

Identified by oilshale using Stebner et al. 2015.

References:
Hennig, W. (1972): Insektenfossilien aus der unteren Kreide IV. Psychodidae (Phlebotominae), mit einer kritischen Übersicht über das phylogenetische System der Familie und die bisher beschriebenen Fossilien (Diptera). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde 241:1-69.

Stebner, F., Solórzano Kraemer, M. M. ,Ibáñez-Bernal, S. and Wagner, R.  (2015): Moth flies and sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Cretaceous Burmese amber. PeerJ 3(e1254):1-34.

Ain Malak M, Salame Y, Azar D. (2013.): New phlebotomine flies from Burmese amber (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae). Terrestrial Arthropods Reviews 6:81–101 DOI 10.1163/18749836-06021060.