Abstract
The first fossil streblid, Enischnomyia stegosoma n. g., n. sp. (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea: Streblidae), is described from Dominican amber. Placed in the subfamily Nycterophiliinae Wenzel, 1966, which includes two New World extant genera, Nycterophilia Ferris, 1916 and Phalconomus Wenzel, 1984 (=Phalcophila Wenzel, 1976), the male specimen of E. stegosoma is characterised by the following features: a laterally compressed body, well-developed two-segmented antennae with the scape fused with the head, a tubular pedicel with an annulated basal portion and swollen apical portion bearing setae and bristles, a distinct flagellum with a dorsal boss bearing microsetae and a subterminal pectinate arista, a large tubular labium (proboscis) with the tip held upwards, eyes reduced to three facets, an expanded and flattened profemur, an anteriorly curved protarsus, and a well-developed wing with an entire distal margin. The possession of wings separates E. stegosoma from the species of Phalconomus, and the wing outline and venation, as well as the structure of the antennae and palps, distinguish it from species of Nycterophilia.
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The authors thank Art Boucot and Roberta Poinar for reading earlier versions of this paper.
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Poinar, G., Brown, A. The first fossil streblid bat fly, Enischnomyia stegosoma n. g., n. sp. (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea: Streblidae). Syst Parasitol 81, 79–86 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-011-9339-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-011-9339-2