Vytis Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 I was wondering is there any way to determine the differences between these insects in Burmese amber? Is there anything different in comparison to their modern counterparts? I am looking into getting a mosquito, but midges look almost identical with the exception of the proboscis. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opabinia Blues Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 (edited) Unfortunately the characteristics used to tell apart different fly families that appear superficially similar is going to be through tiny details. You'd need to put your amber specimen underneath a stereo microscope to differentiate them, and even then you'd need to have the right angle. My first suggestion would be to look at the mouthparts, although you've already mentioned you know about this (mouthpart morphology has been very useful for me when identifying Dipterans from the Florissant fossil beds down to family). My next suggestion would be to look for oblong scales on the wings, as these are present in the Culicidae (mosquitos) but absent in midges or gnats. See pictures below for references. Insects have changed very little since the end of the Cretaceous. Fossil insects from the Cenozoic almost certainly belong to a family, if not a genus, that is still extant. Therefore tools for identifying modern insects can be applied to Cenozoic fossil insects with high reliability, especially for family-level identification. I am an entomology minor, so this is within my field of knowledge Images source: University of Florida Department of Entomology and Nematology. https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/aquatic/Psorophora_ferox.htm https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/AQUATIC/aedes_taeniorhynchus.htm Edited September 28, 2022 by Opabinia Blues Added information about comparing fossil insects to modern insects. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vytis Posted September 29, 2022 Author Share Posted September 29, 2022 Thanks for the information! This was really informative. Looks like I'm going to be heading over to my friend's house to use his microscope for a the few specimens I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 very complicated..., needs lot of study in the wing-structure and parts at head and tail to be sure I tried it with baltic amber-insects, and tried again, and tried again. All are midges , gave it to a friend who has the right knowledge about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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