Archizelmirinae Rohdendorf, 1962

LUKASHEVICH, ELENA DMITRIEVNA, 2022, Revision of Archizelmira Rohdendorf, 1962 (Diptera, Archizelmiridae), Palaeoentomology 5 (3), pp. 254-261 : 255

Subfamily Archizelmirinae Rohdendorf, 1962

Composition. Type genus from the Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous of Asia .

Diagnosis. Flagellomeres not differentiated; cervical region not long.Wing with Sc incomplete, extremely short, extending to level of m-cu; R 1, long, extending far beyond M 1+2 furcation; Rs base sloping backwards; R 4+5 apically branched; basal part of M present as non-sclerotized fold; CuP thin, complete; anal lobe of moderate size.

Remarks. Grimaldi et al. (2003) considered the backwards slope of Rs and the very weak development of Sc as the apomorphic characters of Archizelmira . Both characters occur in the new species described below, although the slope of Rs is rather slight. The type genus Archizelmira is separated into a subfamily of its own with two putative apomorphies, viz. the extremely short Sc and the recurrent Rs base.

Some characters have been missed in previous descriptions of the genus. The incomplete CuP (A 1 of authors) has been mentioned as a familial character of Archizelmiridae ( Grimaldi et al., 2003) . Indeed, CuP is often indistinct on compressions due to its thinness, but the present study found a complete CuP in the new species ( Fig. 1 ), as well as in specimens of the type species from both localities ( Fig. 2B, E ) and A. baissa ( Fig. 3E, F ). The basal part of M, present in the new species as a nonsclerotized fold, is recorded for the first time in the family thanks to the excellent preservation of the wing from Kubekovo ( Fig. 1 ). However, such fold is also distinct on the well-preserved wings of A. kazachstanica from Shar Teg ( Fig. 2D, E ). It is visible as well on the photographs accompanying the original description, where it has not been discussed ( Grimaldi et al., 2003: figs 1.2–4). The anal lobe of the wing of Archizelmira is reduced or moderately developed ( Fig. 4 ), whereas it is very strongly developed in the three other genera (‘anal lobe of wing 90 degrees or more’ in Hippa & Vilkamaa, 2005).

Thus the incomplete CuP is not a character of Archizelmiridae but another putative synapomorphy of the Cretaceous clade ( Zelmiarcha + ( Burmazelmira + Archimelzira )). It supplements the diagnostic characters of the Burmazelmirinae subfam. nov. (see below), which also include the reduction of the basal part of M, the strongly pronounced anal lobe, and the characters pointed out by Grimaldi et al. (2003), which were listed above.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Archizelmira jarzembowskii sp. nov., holotype PIN 1255/2218, Kubekovo, J2. A, B, Positive impression, photo (SEM, uncoated) and drawing of total view. C, D, Photograph of negative impression, basal part of wing (SEM, uncoated) and total view. Scale bars = 0.2 mm. Arrows mark bM.

FIGURE 2. Archizelmira kazachstanica. A, B, PIN 2997/3284, Karatau, J3. Wing, positive impression, B, Base of wing, negative impression. C, D, PIN 2997/3141, negative impression, Karatau, J3, pubescence and basal part of wing, Shar Teg, J3 (SEM, uncoated). E, PIN 4270/2244, total view of wing, Shar Teg, J3 (SEM, uncoated). Scale bars = 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 3. Archizelmira baissa, holotype PIN 3064/9039, Baissa, K1. A–D, Wing, pubescence of veins (SEM, uncoated). E, F, Wing, total view and basal part. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 4. Shape of wings of Archizelmira. A, A. jarzembowskii sp. nov., holotype PIN 1255/2218, Kubekovo, J2. B–D, A. kazachstanica, PIN 2997/3284, 2239/2030, 2239/2031, Karatau, J3. E, A. baissa, holotype PIN 3064/9039, Baissa, K1. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.