Browsing by Author "Fraser, Nicholas C."
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Item How time flies for flies : diverse Diptera from the Triassic of Virginia and early radiation of the order ; American Museum novitates, no. 3572(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2007) Blagoderov, Vladimir A.; Grimaldi, David A.; Fraser, Nicholas C.The most diverse and best-preserved early fauna of flies (order Diptera) is described from the late Carnian (late Triassic, ca. 220 Ma) of Virginia, USA. Complete flies are preserved as aluminosilicate films on very fine-grained shales from the Cow Branch Formation, which is part ofthe Newark Supergroup of early Mesozoic rift basins from eastern North America. The dipteran fauna consists of eight families (one new), 11 genera (five new), and 16 species (11 new), and includes the following taxa (Blagoderov and Grimaldi are the authors of all new names): Architipula youngi Krzemiński, Metarchilimonia krzeminskorum n.gen., n.sp., and M. solita n.sp. (Limoniidae); Triassopsychoda olseni n.gen., n.sp. (Psychodidae); Culicomorpha indet.; Yalea argentata (Krzemiński), Y. rectimedia n.sp., Alinka cara Krzemiński (Procramptonomyiidae); Veriplecia rugosa n.sp., Virginiptera certa n.gen., n.sp., V. similis n.sp., V. lativentra n.sp. (Paraxymyiidae); Brachyrhyphus distortus n.gen. n.sp. (Protorhyphidae); ?Crosaphis virginiensis n.sp. (Crosaphididae); and Prosechamyia trimedia n.gen., n.sp., P. dimedia n.sp. (Prosechamyiidae, new family). Particularly significant is a culicomorphan with a long proboscis, which is the earliest fossil record of a structure specialized apparently for blood feeding. Also, Prosechamyia appears to be a stem group to the very diverse infraorder Brachycera, the earliest definitive members of which appear in the early Jurassic. Phylogenetic relationships of major clades of living and extinct nematocerous Diptera are analyzed, indicating that infraordinal-level diversification was complete by the late Triassic. Flies did not reach modern levels of ecological abundance until the mid-Jurassic, apparently due to diversification within most infraorders by that time.Item Leehermania prorova, the earliest staphyliniform beetle, from the late Triassic of Virginia (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae). (American Museum novitates, no. 3761)(American Museum of Natural History., 2012-10-18) Chatzimanolis, Stylianos.; Grimaldi, David A.; Engel, Michael S.; Fraser, Nicholas C.The Staphylinidae contain over 57,000 described species, thus comprising one of the largest families in all Insecta. Leehermania prorova Chatzimanolis, Grimaldi, and Engel, new genus and species, is described, which is the earliest staphylinid and the oldest definitive polyphagan beetle. The new species is based on a series of well-preserved specimens from the early Norian to late Carnian-aged (late Triassic) Cow Branch Formation of southern Virginia. It is considered to be subfamily incertae sedis within Staphylinidae, but its possible affinity with the tachyporine group of staphylinids is noted. A summary of all Mesozoic Staphylinidae is provided and the evolutionary history of the lineage briefly discussed.