A Cretaceous dance fly (Diptera: Empididae) from Botswana

Waters, S. B.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1989.tb00280.x

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The presence of deciduous leaves, together with a southerly shift in the presentday distributions of several taxa: Empidae (Waters 1989), Bibionidae (Rayner 1987), Promecognathinae (McKay 1990), suggest that the palaeoclimate of Orapa was both seasonal, and cooler and wetter than found today. Plant remains are predominately from angiosperms and the diversity of leaf types (entire and serrated margins) suggest a mixed successional vegetation within the crater being periodically disturbed by mass flows from the unstable slopes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first scarabaeid beetle (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae) described from the Mesozoic (Late-Cretaceous) of Africa

Woolley¹

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A full description is given of the first scarabaeid beetle documented from the Mesozoic (Late Cretaceous) of Africa (Orapa, Botswana). Brief and partial descriptions of this beetle have appeared in two previous review papers of fossils from the Orapa Diamond Mine. This work represents an updated analysis and interpretation of the fossil based on character comparison and phylogenetic analysis. The new genus and species, Ceafornotensis archratiras, are described in Melolonthinae incertae sedis. Phylogenetic analysis suggests a sister group relationship with the tribe Phaenognathini (Melolonthinae incertae sedis). Although phytophagy in the adult beetle cannot be confirmed, it is proposed that angiosperms could have contributed to a proportion of its diet (larval or adult). This beetle may belong to a stem lineage of pleurostict scarabaeids which later experienced major radiation in response to widespread environmental changes brought about by continuing radiation of the angiosperms.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first scarabaeid beetle (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae) described from the Mesozoic (Late-Cretaceous) of Africa

Woolley¹

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A wealth of Mesozoic compression fossils has been assigned to Empidoidea, some of which date back to the Middle Jurassic, while others have been assigned to present‐day genera (e.g. Waters, 1989). Reconstructing phylogenetic affinities of these fossils often is problematic, as the only reliable features are wing veins, which are rather conservative across the clade and therefore largely uninformative.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Cretaceous empidoids and the Mesozoic dance fly revolution (Diptera: Empidoidea)

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dance flies and relatives (Empidoidea) are a diverse and ecologically important group of Diptera in nearly all modern terrestrial ecosystems. Their fossil record, despite being scattered, attests to a long evolutionary history dating back to the early Mesozoic. Here, we describe seven new species of Empidoidea from Cretaceous Kachin amber inclusions, assigning them to the new genus Electrochoreutes gen.n. (type species: Electrochoreutes trisetigerus sp.n.) based on unique apomorphies among known Diptera. Like many extant dance flies, the males of Electrochoreutes are characterized by species-specific sexually dimorphic traits, which are likely to have played a role in courtship. The fine anatomy of the fossils was investigated through high-resolution Xray phase-contrast microtomography to reconstruct their phylogenetic affinities within the empidoid clade, using cladistic reasoning. Morphology-based phylogenetic analyses including a selection of all extant family-and subfamily-ranked empidoid clades along with representatives of all extinct Mesozoic genera, were performed using a broad range of analytical methods (maximum parsimony, maximum-likelihood and Bayesian inference). These analyses converged in reconstructing Electrochoreutes as a stemgroup representative of the Dolichopodidae, suggesting that complex mating rituals evolved in this lineage during the Cretaceous.

show abstract

“…Due to their ecology, where they are dependent on flowing water, adults would rarely be associated with tree trunks and other sources of amber, as hypothesized by Sinclair (). Based on fossil Empidinae and Hybotinae, Waters () suggested that these two lineages may actually have been well established by the early Late Cretaceous 93 Ma, or even the Lower Cretaceous, as suggested by Grimaldi & Cumming (), which is much earlier than suggested by Chvála (). Based on this evidence and on present distribution patterns, it is likely that the Clinocerinae were also well established as early as the Cenomanian period (97–91 Ma) of the Late Cretaceous (Sinclair, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography provide insights into the subgeneric classification of Wiedemannia Zetterstedt (Diptera: Empididae: Clinocerinae)

Ivković

Wahlberg

Previšić

2018

Systematic Entomology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The subgenera of Wiedemannia are poorly defined and, as such, most recently described species are not assigned to a subgenus or have been assigned to a subgenus without explanation. In this study we perform a molecular phylogenetic analysis to elucidate relationships within the genus Wiedemannia. We sequenced two mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase c subunit I and cytochrome ) and two nuclear (carbomoylphosphate synthase domain of rudimentary and elongation factor-1 ) gene fragments to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among the subgenera Chamaedipsia, Eucelidia, Philolutra, Pseudowiedemannia, Roederella and Wiedemannia (s.s.) using both Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood approaches. The genus was found to be monophyletic, but most of the subgenera were not. We propose eliminating the present subgeneric division altogether. Molecular dating using a log-normal clock model and calibration with fossil species indicated that Wiedemannia diversified about 48 Ma, while there was still land connectivity between Europe and Asia with North America. Wiedemannia has a near-worldwide distribution apart from the Australasian and Neotropical regions and Antarctica, with greatest species richness in the western Palaearctic, especially the Mediterranean region. Molecular phylogenetics support more recent morphological studies. The subgenera of Wiedemannia are invalid and rejected. Biogeographical data suggest potential hotspots, and the current distribution is discussed.

show abstract

A Cretaceous dance fly (Diptera: Empididae) from Botswana

Cited by 14 publications

References 6 publications

The first scarabaeid beetle (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae) described from the Mesozoic (Late-Cretaceous) of Africa

The first scarabaeid beetle (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae) described from the Mesozoic (Late-Cretaceous) of Africa

New Cretaceous empidoids and the Mesozoic dance fly revolution (Diptera: Empidoidea)

Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography provide insights into the subgeneric classification of Wiedemannia Zetterstedt (Diptera: Empididae: Clinocerinae)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About