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A New Extinct Genus of Long-Legged Flies, with a Brief Review and Key to Extinct Genera of Baltic Amber Dolichopodidae (Diptera)

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Abstract

A new genus Plesiomedetera gen. nov., is described from Late Eocene Baltic amber. The genus is placed in the extant subfamily Medeterinae and includes five recognized and two doubtful species, all poorly described by Meunier in 1907–1908 and never reported again. Plesiomedetera flammea (Meunier, 1907), comb. nov. and P. mustela (Meunier, 1907), comb. nov. are described and illustrated, and a key to recognized species of this genus is compiled. The other eight extinct genera from Baltic amber are briefly reviewed, belonging to extant subfamilies ?Diaphorinae, Dolichopodinae, Medeterinae, Peloropeodinae and Sciapodinae, and a key to these genera is compiled. The following new combinations (comb. nov.) are proposed: Plesiomedetera decora (Meunier, 1907), P. elegantula (Meunier, 1907), P. vana (Meunier, 1907), P. lasciva (Meunier, 1907), P. lepida (Meunier, 1907), Medeterites atterraneus (Nazarov, 1994), M. gestuosus (Meunier, 1907), M. gulosus (Meunier, 1907), M. latipennis (Meunier, 1907), Palaeoargyra planipedia (Meunier, 1907), Palaeomedeterus praeconcinnus (Evenhuis, 1994), P. concinnus (Meunier, 1907), P. tertiarius (Meunier, 1907), Prohercostomus ciliatus (Meunier, 1907), P. devinctus (Meunier, 1907), P. gracilis (Meunier, 1907), P. minutus (Meunier, 1907), P. morbosus (Meunier, 1907), P. smicrus (Meuffels et Grootaert, 1999) and P. inumbratus (Meunier, 1907). Sciara pusilla Meunier, 1899 is considered nomen nudum, rather than unplaced species of Dolichopodidae. Dolichopus smicrus Meuffels et Grootaert, 1999 (unnecessary new name) is placed in synonymy with Prohercostomus minutus. In all, 53 recognized, 5 doubtful and 10 unplaced species from Baltic amber are listed.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author expresses sincere gratitude to Svetlana A. Zagrebina, Director, Kaliningrad Amber Museum, Russia, Dr. Andranik R. Manukyan, Senior Research Scientist from the same Museum, and Dr. E.E. Perkovsky, Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, for their help in any respect. Drs. E.D. Lukashevich and D.V. Vasilenko (Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Moscow, Russia) kindly commented on the earlier draft of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by the All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection project no. FGEU-2022-0002.

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  1. All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection, 196608, Pushkin, St. Petersburg, Russia

    I. Ya. Grichanov

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Grichanov, I.Y. A New Extinct Genus of Long-Legged Flies, with a Brief Review and Key to Extinct Genera of Baltic Amber Dolichopodidae (Diptera). Paleontol. J. 57 (Suppl 3), S246–S261 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123600051

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