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Systematics, phylogeny and biogeography
RESEARCH ARTICLE

The oldest representative of the Trichomyiinae (Diptera : Psychodidae) from the Lower Cenomanian French amber studied with phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray imaging

Malvina Lak A B , Dany Azar C E , André Nel D E , Didier Néraudeau A and Paul Tafforeau B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Géosciences Rennes, UMR CNRS 5118, 263 av. du Général Leclerc, F-35042 Rennes Cedex, France.

B European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, BP 220, F-38043 Grenoble Cedex 9, France.

C Lebanese University, Faculty of Sciences II, Department of Biology, Fanar - Matn - PO Box 26110217, Lebanon.

D CNRS UMR 5202, Muséum National d’histoire Naturelle, CP 50, Entomologie, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France.

E Corresponding authors. Email: azar@mnhn.fr; anel@mnhn.fr

Invertebrate Systematics 22(4) 471-478 https://doi.org/10.1071/IS08008
Submitted: 22 February 2008  Accepted: 22 July 2008   Published: 14 October 2008

Abstract

Trichomyia lengleti, sp. nov., is described from the Lower Cenomanian amber of La Buzinie, Charente (south-west France) from a piece of fully opaque amber. The Upper Albian Trichomyia swinhoei Cockerell, 1917 is transferred from the Trichomyiinae to the Sycoracinae incertae sedis, stat. nov. Trichomyia lengleti, sp. nov. is the oldest representative of the subfamily Trichomyiinae, supporting at least a Cretaceous diversification for the Psychodidae. The discovery of this fossil fly and its study (thanks to propagation-phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray imaging) improves our knowledge of the biodiversity and the historical evolution of psychodoid flies. A checklist of fossil trichomyiine species is given.

Additional keywords: Charente, Cretaceous amber, south-west France.


Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Alain Couillard, who discovered the amber deposit of La Buzinie, and to Thierry Lenglet who collected the amber piece containing the Psychodidae. We are also grateful to the ESRF and the ID19 staff for their help in synchrotron imaging. Lastly we thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful criticism of the first version of the manuscript. This work is supported by the French Research Agency (ANR), project ‘AMBRACE’ n° BLAN07–1-184190. This paper is a contribution to the project ‘The Study of the Fossil Insects and their Outcrops: Geology of the Outcrops – Historical and Biodiversity Evolution’ accorded by the Lebanese University to DA.


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Appendix 1.  Checklist of fossil Trichomyiinae
N.B. Trichomyia swinhoei Cockerell, 1917 has been omitted from the list as this species undoubtedly belongs to the subfamily Sycoracinae
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