Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Sciarid in Baltic amber

Posted by Peter Macdonald on 13-02-2009 21:54
#1

Hi,

Seems to be some sort of a sciarid from Baltic (i.e. Miocene) amber. I have access to the old literature, including the monograph by Meunier from 1904, but there was a major revision, including lumping several of Meunier's species together, in 1994 by Frank RÖSCHMANN & Werner MOHRIG in Studia Dipterologica, Vol. 1(126-138). Unfortunately, none of the libraries here in Scotland have a copy.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to which species this may be, or does anyone have a PDF of the RÖSCHMANN & MOHRIG paper?

Many thanks,

Peter

Posted by Paul Beuk on 14-02-2009 00:00
#2

With this wing venation it is more likely to be somewhere near Keroplatidae or one of the other smaller mycetophiloid families.

Posted by Peter Macdonald on 15-02-2009 00:02
#3

Paul,

Many thanks for that. I will keep ploughing through Meunier's monograph. Biggest problem with it was that he liked to illustrate antennae and not much else! Not helpful when the fossil does not show these well.

I am away for a few days. When I get back I will have to try to cut into the amber from the other side so as to expose the left side of the head and see is there is an antenna left on that side.

I should have said that the length of the fly is about 2.5 mm

Peter

Posted by phil withers on 15-02-2009 01:50
#4

Looking at the bibliography of the cited paper, you might be better off in the first instance to look at Mohrig & Roschmann (1994) in Deutsche Ent. Zeitschrift vol. 1, 79-136. This is a revision of the Loew and Meunier types, and probably carries some more helpful information.

Posted by Peter Macdonald on 15-02-2009 10:41
#5

Phil,

Many thanks. That look to be much more promising. I can get access to DEZ. Part of my problem was that I knew that RÖSCHMANN and MOHRIG had revised Meunier's types in 194. The only paper from them from 1994 which I could find a citation for was the one in SD.

I will get onto the DEZ paper after I get back home next weekend.

Regards,

Peter