Leptotarsus cretaceus, Ribeiro, Guilherme C. & Lukashevich, Elena D., 2014

Ribeiro, Guilherme C. & Lukashevich, Elena D., 2014, New Leptotarsus from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil and Spain: the oldest members of the family Tipulidae (Diptera), Zootaxa 3753 (4), pp. 347-363 : 349

Leptotarsus cretaceus sp. nov.

( Figs 3 , 14, 15 )

Type material. Holotype: AMNH SA 46354 (entire female specimen, preserved in dorsal view; preserved structures include the basal portions of antennae and head with mouth parts). NE Brazil, Santana Fm., Aptian/ Albian, Early Cretaceous. Housed in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.

Etymology. From Latin, “chalky”. Named in reference to the Cretaceous Period.

Diagnosis. This species differs from the other Cretaceous species by its dark costal field, narrower parallelogram-shaped discal cell and veins M3 and M4 divergent and dissimilar in shape.

Description. Female. Head. Antenna with short flagellomeres, first flagellomere shorter than remaining; scape stout and long, about 4x longer than pedicel; rostrum ca. 0.5x the total length of head. Thorax stout, ca. 1.7x longer than wide. Wing transparent except for dark pterostigma and costal field. Sc reaching wing margin shortly beyond the level of first bifurcation of Rs and beyond the level of the tip of Cu; sc-r present, positioned very near the tip of Sc; Rs curved, slightly shorter than R2+3, R1 reaching wing margin beyond the level of bifurcation of R2+3; r-r oblique, linking R1 to R2; R2 oblique; medial vein four-branched; parallelogram discal cell relatively large, ca. 2.1x longer than wide; M3 and M4 divergent toward wing margin; M3 sinuous; M4 arcuated; m-cu linking Cu to the base of M4. Abdomen stout, ca. 1.8x longer than thorax.

Measurements. Head length, 1.99. Body length, ca.12.3. Wing length/width ca. 9.8/2.8.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Wing venation of Leptotarsus spp. from Santana Formation, Early Cretaceous, Brazil. 1 — L. grimaldii sp. nov., holotype AMNH SA 46358, right wing. 2 — L. grimaldii sp. nov., paratype AMNH SA 46366, left wing. 3 — L. cretaceus sp. nov., holotype AMNH SA 46354, right wing. 4 — L. martinsnetoi sp. nov., holotype MZUSP 1580, left wing.

FIGURES 14 – 15. Leptotarsus cretaceus, sp. nov., from Santana Formation, Early Cretaceous, Brazil, holotype AMNH SA 46354. 14 — Total view. 15 — Detail of head. Abbreviations: comp eye: compound eye; lbl: labella; ped: pedicel; plp: palpus; scp: scape.