Discovery of Lebambromyia in Myanmar Cretaceous Amber: Phylogenetic and Biogeographic Implications (Insecta, Diptera, Phoroidea)

Abstract

Lebambromyia sacculifera sp. nov. is described from Late Cretaceous amber from Myanmar, integrating traditional observation techniques and X-ray phase contrast microtomography. Lebambromyia sacculifera is the second species of Lebambromyia after L. acrai Grimaldi and Cumming, described from Lebanese amber (Early Cretaceous), and the first record of this taxon from Myanmar amber, considerably extending the temporal and geographic range of this genus. The new specimen bears a previously undetected set of phylogenetically relevant characters such as a postpedicel sacculus and a prominent clypeus, which are shared with Ironomyiidae and Eumuscomorpha. Our cladistic analyses confirmed that Lebambromyia represented a distinct monophyletic lineage related to Platypezidae and Ironomyiidae, though its affinities are strongly influenced by the interpretation and coding of the enigmatic set of features characterizing these fossil flies.