Plecia volgeri (C.H.G. Heyden, 1859 )

Skartveit, John & Wedmann, Sonja, 2021, A Revision of fossil Bibionidae (Insecta: Diptera) from the Oligocene of Germany, Zootaxa 4909 (1), pp. 1-77 : 39

Plecia volgeri (C.H.G. Heyden, 1859)

Bibiopsis Volgeri C.H.G. Heyden, 1859: 15.

Type: Coll. V. Dechen, Bonn? (not seen)

Total length 9.8mm

Heyden & Heyden (1865: 30) stated the species belonged in genus Protomyia , but did not formally name it Protomyia volgeri .

Description: (gleaned from Statz (1943, 14–15) and Heyden (1859, 15 and Plate I. Fig. 5))

The description in Statz (1943) is apparently based on Heyden’s description and figure, since an obvious trait such as body colour, which was not mentioned by Heyden, is also not mentioned by Statz.

Head: Obviously drawn far too small in Heyden’s figure.

Thorax: Strongly convex.

Legs: Not preserved.

Wing: Length 11.6 mm, width 5.1 mm. Fumose with darkened costal cell. The wing venation is not well represented in Heyden’s figure.

Abdomen: Spindle-shaped, rather stout.

The original description and illustration are not sufficient to recognize the species, and the redescription by Statz (1943) is apparently based on the original description, not on the study of any specimens. The name should therefore be regarded as a nomen dubium unless the type material is rediscovered.