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18 October 2012 Fossil Curtonotidae (Diptera: Schizophora: Ephydroidea)
David A. Grimaldi, Ashley H. Kirk-Spriggs
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Abstract

Curtonotidae are a small, mostly tropical family of acalyptrate flies in the Ephydroidea, a superfamily that also includes the Drosophilidae. Two species of Curtonotidae are described from Miocene amber of the Dominican Republic, 17–20 Ma: Curtonotumelectrodominicum Grimaldi and Kirk-Spriggs, sp. n., and Depressonotumpriscum Grimaldi and Kirk-Spriggs, gen. et sp. n. The fossil Curtonotum is based on a female specimen and has some features of Neotropical species and a small clade of African species. Depressonotumpriscum, gen. et sp. n., is based on a male and female and has a unique combination of features that are plesiomorphic and derived for the Curtonotidae. These are the only definitive fossils of the family and the only Curtonotidae known from the Caribbean. The fossil Curtonotidae provide rare data on the geological occurrence of ephydroid flies, essential for estimates of divergence times.

Copyright ©American Museum of Natural History 2012
David A. Grimaldi and Ashley H. Kirk-Spriggs "Fossil Curtonotidae (Diptera: Schizophora: Ephydroidea)," American Museum Novitates 2012(3760), 1-16, (18 October 2012). https://doi.org/10.1206/3760.2
Published: 18 October 2012
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