The genus Leptoconops Skuse (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Early Cretaceous Charentese amber

Abstract

A new species of biting midge is described and figured based on five females from the uppermost Albian amber of France. One specimen preserved in opaque amber was reconstructed by propagation phase contrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography, allowing for detailed observation of minute external features. Leptoconops daugeroni Choufani, Azar and Nel, sp. nov. can be attributed to the group of subgenera [Holoconops Kieffer (Ann Hist-Nat Mus Natl Hung 16:31-136, 1918)+(Megaconops Wirth and Atchley+Leptoconops s. str. + Proleptoconops Clastrier (Parassitologia 16:231-238, 1974))], making inference on its palaeoecology possible, with larvae of this clade living in moist and usually saline sandy soil on coastal and inland beaches, which is congruent with the current reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment of this amber deposit.

Biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) as indicators of biostratigraphy, ecological reconstructions and identification of amber deposits

“…(Upper Cretaceous, Albian-Cenomanian, 94-113 Ma) Choufani et al 2011). So far, only one species has been recorded from this amber:…”

Morphological and molecular insights into the diversity of Leptoconops biting midges from a heavily infested Mediterranean area

“…Three subfamilies are recognized in Ceratopogonidae (Ceratopogoninae, Forcipomyiinae and Leptoconopinae), with Leptoconopinae, including the genus Leptoconops Skuse, being an ancient lineage mostly distributed in intertropical or subtropical regions. The oldest known fossils date back to 120 million years ago ( Borkent, 2001 ), suggesting that the evolutionary radiation of the group could have started in the Lower Cretaceous or Late Jurassic ( Choufani et al, 2011 ).…”