A new genus and species of bee fly (Diptera: Asiloidea: Bombyliidae) in Late Cretaceous (Coniacian) Iwaki amber from the Futaba Group of Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan

Abstract

We report a new genus and species of the family Bombyliidae (Diptera: Asiloidea), Futababombylia kishini gen. et sp. nov., based on a fossil preserved in amber from the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian, ca. 87–86 Ma) Kohisagawa Member of the Tamayama Formation, Futaba Group in Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan. To date, a total of nine Cretaceous bombyliid genera have been reported, all of which are monotypic. Futababombylia kishini gen. et sp. nov. represents the first fossil record of the family Bombyliidae from the Coniacian, as well as the first Cretaceous bombyliid fossil discovered outside of Kachin amber. It differs markedly from all other extinct and extant bombyliid species in having a bell-shaped head and the bifurcation of vein M₁₊₂ positioned opposite to bifurcation of vein R₄₊₅. Futababombylia kishini gen. et sp. nov. plays an important role in bridging a gap in the evolutionary timeline of the family Bombyliidae during the Late Cretaceous.

ZooBank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7526F546-FF5C-4B41-AED9-2C7ACF6BAB2C