Kumaromyia Grimaldi & Hauser

Grimaldi, David A., Arillo, Antonio, Cumming, Jeffrey M. & Hauser, Martin, 2011, Brachyceran Diptera (Insecta) in Cretaceous ambers, Part IV, Significant New Orthorrhaphous Taxa, ZooKeys 148, pp. 293-332 : 313-314

Kumaromyia Grimaldi & Hauser gen. n.

Diagnosis.

Body stout, abdomen short (length about equal to that of thorax); eyes large, bare; antenna with 3 flagellomeres, second article and third (style) minute; palp one-segmented; legs and thorax with bristle-like setae, no pilosity except for postoccipital region; hind coxa with small knob on anterior surface; thickness of metatarsi equal that of metatibial base; wing with C ending between apices of R5 and M1, apex of R5 ending slightly subapically; R4 and R5 divergent, not parallel for any part of their lengths, base of R4 not perpendicular to stem of R4+5 and R5.

Etymology.

Patronym in honor of a great colleague and friend to the senior author, Prof. Kumar Krishna. Appropriately, Kumaromyia (as presently known) is preserved in amber from Burma, a place of significance in Kumar’s early years.

Type species.

Kumaromyia burmitica , sp. n., by present designation.

Discussion.

Psilocephala electrella Cockerell, 1920, is a similar species preserved in Burmese amber, but Kumaromyia burmitica has a smaller body size (wing width 0.75 mm, vs. 1.5 mm in holotype of electrella), and differs venationally, specifically with the apex of R5 meeting C preapically (vs. slightly postapically in electrella), M1 and M2 nearly parallel (distinctly divergent in electrella), and apex of M3 distinctly curved to meet apex of CuA1 at the wing margin (vs. straight in electrella). The holotype and unique specimen of electrella (NHML In. 20148) is shown in an excellent photograph in Gaimari and Mostovski (2000: fig. 1), and it was examined by the senior author in 2004. It is very partial, with most of the specimen lost (just portions of the scutum and abdomen, two legs and most of both wings remain), so it is very difficult to determine if the two species may be congeneric.