First Australian amber fossil of Podonominae (Diptera: Chironomidae) from the late Middle Eocene
[EN] A non-biting midge of the cosmopolitan family Chironomidae (Podonominae) is recorded in amber from the Anglesea Coal Measures, southeastern Australia. The new morphotype is likely a new species but is not formally described here because of insufficient diagnostic character states. To date, only...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2024 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/384986 |
| Acesso em linha: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/384986 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85201008308 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Synchrotron imaging Australian amber Fossil Chironomidae Palaeobiogeography Soft tissue preservation |
| Resumo: | [EN] A non-biting midge of the cosmopolitan family Chironomidae (Podonominae) is recorded in amber from the Anglesea Coal Measures, southeastern Australia. The new morphotype is likely a new species but is not formally described here because of insufficient diagnostic character states. To date, only five amber deposits in the Northern Hemisphere have yielded fossils of Podonominae, making our discovery the first amber-hosted representative of the group from the Southern Hemisphere. The single adult male individual has been assigned to the subfamily Podonominae, and shows similarities to the Austrochlus cluster group including small size, the lack of veins R2 + 3, and the distally located cross-vein m-cu. Synchrotron X-ray microtomographic imaging reveals some internal structures of the wing musculature and brain capsule, highlighting the taphonomic significance of this unique specimen. |
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