Chandleromyia, Grimaldi, 2018

Grimaldi, David A., 2018, Basal Cyclorrhapha In Amber From The Cretaceous And Tertiary (Insecta: Diptera), And Their Relationships: Brachycera In Cretaceous Amber Part Ix David A. Grimaldi, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2018 (423), pp. 1-97 : 1-97

Chandleromyia , new genus

DIAGNOSIS: (male only). Eyes extensively holoptic; gena bare, occiput with very fine, scattered short setae; clypeus a broad triangle; palp minute; arista bare; acrostichals entirely absent, only 1 pair of (short, prescutellar) dorsocentrals; 1 short pair of scutellars; 4–5 notopleurals. Wing entirely covered with dense microtrichia; M not forked (M 2 lost), dm-cu close to wing margin; CuP slightly curved. Tibiae and tarsi with bifid scales. Metatarsomeres 1–4 flattened, expanded; tarsomere 2 shortest, with blunt spine; tarsomere 3 with clavate seta. Abdomen short, broad; male tergite 7 narrow, tubular.

TYPE SPECIES: C. anomala , n. sp.

ETYMOLOGY: For Peter J. Chandler, in recognition of his work on global Platypezidae , and on Diptera in general. The genus name is feminine.

COMMENTS: This genus is extremely similar phenetically, and apparently close phylogenetically, to Lindneromyia neomedialis , n. sp., in Dominican amber, described below. This is based on the squared oral margin, minute palps; face, gena, arista bare; complete lack of acrostichals, one (short, prescutellar) pair of dorsocentral setae; one short pair of scutellars; no supraalars, one short postalar; loss of vein M 2; r-m crossvein near level of cell Sc apex; and thick, stiff, spinelike setae on posterior margin of tergite 6 lacking. Chandleromyia differs from L. neomedialis based on the setose occiput (completely bare in Lindneromyia ); 4–5 notopleurals (vs. 2); wing membrane entirely with dense microtrichia (vs. partially covered with minute, faint ones); cell dm long, with dm-cu close to wing margin (vs. cell short, vein near middle of wing); vein M 1 deflexed (vs. almost straight); vein CuP curved (vs. straight); spine and clavate seta on metarsomeres 2 and 3, respectively (vs. without); male tergite 7 narrow, tubular (vs. short, much broader than long, inserted into emargination of tergite 6).

Though separated by approximately 80 million years, the two flies appear closely related. There is no question about the provenance of the two specimens; AMNH DR14-35 was acquired in the 1990s in the Dominican Republic by me; AMNH Bu-KL30-27 was acquired from Myanmar. With a derived platypezine in the mid-Cretaceous, this greatly extends the age of crown-group Platypezidae (fig. 27).