A hangingfly (Mecoptera, Bittacidae) from the late Oligocene Fossillagerstätte Enspel, Westerwald (SW Germany)

Abstract

A hangingfly (Mecoptera, Bittacidae) is described from bituminous shales of the late Oligocene crater-lake of Enspel, Germany. It is attributed to a new species, Eremobittacus opeth sp. nov., and constitutes the first post-Eocene record of fossil hangingflies from Germany. The genus Eremobittacus was hitherto exclusively known from Mexico. Its presence in the Oligocene of Germany is a further case of insect dispersion between North America and Europe, via the Beringian, the Thulean, or the De Geer routes during the Paleogene.