PROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH. 109(1), 2007, pp. 155-159 CORETHRELLA ANDERSONl (DIPTERA: CORETHRELLIDAE), A NEW SPECIES FROM LOWER CRETACEOUS BURMESE AMBER George O. Poinar and Ryszard Szadziewski (GP) Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, U.S.A. (e-mail: [email protected]); (RS) Department ofInvertebrate Zoology, University of Gdansk, Pilsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, Poland (e-mail: [email protected]) — Abstract. Corethrellaandersoni, n. sp. (Diptera: Corethrellidae), is described from Lower Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new species can be distinguished from all previously described extinct and extant Corethrella Coquillett by the very short wing veins R2 and R3. Key Words: Corethrella andersoni, Corethrellidae, Burmese amber The dipterous family Corethrellidae ed have been assigned to the Upper includes the single genus Corethrella Albian (~ 100-110 mya) of the Lower Coquillett with over 60 extant species, Cretaceous (Cruickshank and Ko 2002). all which occur in warm climates (sub- Observations and photographs were tropics and tropics) (Borkent 1993). made with a Nikon SMZ-10 stereoscopic Females have biting mouthparts (with microscope and Nikon Optiphot optical one exception) and are reported to feed microscope (with magnifications up to on frogs, mammals and birds (Williams 650X). Drawings were made with a cam- and Edman 1968). era lucida. All previously described fossil corethrel- Whereas the majority of the fossil lids are males in Miocene-Oligocene Do- corethrellid is intact (Fig. 1), the terminal minicanamber{CorethrellanudistylaBork- abdominal segments separated and are ent and Szadziewski 1992), Eocene Baltic now adjacent to the wing apex, the left amber (C. prisca Borkent and Szadziewski wing is incomplete with only the base 1992, C miocaenica Szadziewski et al. preserved, themid legs havetarsomeres 2- 1994) and Lower Cretaceous Lebanese 4 separated, tarsomeres 3-5 of both hind amber (C cretacea Szadziewski 1995). legs are missing, and the left palpus, while The present study describes the first complete, is separated from the proboscis. female fossil corethrellid from Burmese amber. Family Corethrellidae Edwards, 1932 Genus Corethrella Coquillett, 1902 Materials and Methods Corethrella andersoni Poinar and Amber from Myanmar (Burma) oc- Szadziewski, new species curs in lignitic seams in sandstone- limestone deposits in the Hukawng (Figs. 18) — Valley. Palynomorphs obtained from Description. Female (Fig. 1): Body the amber beds where the fossil originat- length about 2.5 mm. Proboscis slightly PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 156 Fig. I. Holotype female of Corethrella andersoni, lateral view. Bar = 0.83 mm. elongate, as long as height of head or less distinct whorls of longer setae (Fig. 8); eyes above antennae narrowly (Figs. 2, 6); flagellomeres 3-13 subequal, separated; pedicel slightly enlarged; fla- between 164 |Lim and 180 \xm. in length. gellum very long, 2.20 mm, with 13 Clypeus and probosciswith simple setae; slender flagellomeres; first flagellomere palpus 5-segmented (Fig. 3), 370 \xxn long, 385 )j.m long, almost 2.3 times longer longer than proboscis. Third palpal seg- than flagellomere 2 (170 |J-m); all flagel- ment 268 )am long; fourth 133 |a,m; fifth lomeres with distinct basal whorl oflong 185 \\.m-, labrum distinct, long, slender; setae; flagellomeres 2-12 with 2-3 more mandibles and laciniae not visible. VOLUME NUMBER 109, 1 157 Figs. 2-8. Corethrella andersoni in Burmese amber. 2, Flagellomeres 1 and 2. 3, Palpus. 4, Wing. 5, Striated scales from femur. 6, Flagellomere 5. 7, Fifth tarsomere ofmid leg. 8, Head, lateral view. 158 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON Table 1. Lengths ofleg segments and tarsomeres of Corethrella andersoni (in mm). Tarsomere 1 Tarsomere2 Tarsomere 3 Foreleg 0.95 Midleg Hind leg VOLUME NUMBER 109, 1 159 Acknowledgment Cruickshank, R. D. and K. Ko, K. 2002. Geology of an amber locality in the Hukawng Valley, Thanks are extended to Roberta Poi- northern Myanmar. Journal of Asian Earth nar for comments on earlier drafts ofthis Sciences 21: 441-455. paper. Kalugina, N. S. 1993. Chaoborid and chironomid midges from Upper Mesozoic of East Trans- baikalia. Mesozoic insects and ostracods from Literature Cited Asia. Trudi Paleontologicheskogo Instituta (Moscow) 252: 117-139 (in Russian). Borkent, A. 1993. A world catalogue offossil and Lukashevich, E. D. 2000. Phantom midges (Dip- extant Corethrellidae and Chaoboridae (Dip- tera: Chaoboridae) from Burmese amber. tera), with a listing of references to keys, Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, bionomicinformation anddescriptions ofeach London (Geology) 56: 47-52. known life stage. Entomologica Scandinavica Szadziewski, R. 1995. The oldest fossil Corethrellidae 24: 1-24. (Diptera) from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese Borkent, A. and R. Szadziewski. 1992. The first amber.ActaZoologicaCracoviensia38: 177-181. record of fossil Corethrellidae (Diptera). En- Szadziewski, R., W. Krzeminski, and M. Kutscher. tomologica Scandinavica 22: 457—463. 1994. A new species of Corethrella (Diptera: Cook, E. F. 1981. Chaoboridae. pp. 335-339. In Corethrellidae) from Miocene Saxonian am- McAlpine, J. F., B. V. Peterson, G. E. Shewell, ber. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 37: 87-90. H. J. Tesky, J. R. Vockeroth, and D. M. Williams, J. A. andJ. D. Edman. 1968. Occurrence Wood, eds. Manual of Nearctic Diptera. ofblood meals in two species ofCorethrella in Volume 1. Monograph No. 27, Research Florida. Annals of the Entomological Society Branch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa. ofAmerica 61: 1336.