REMARKABLE STASIS IN SOME LOWER TERTIARY PARASITOIDS - DESCRIPTIONS, NEW RECORDS, AND REVIEW OF STREPSIPTERA IN THE OLIGOMIOCENE AMBER OF THE DOMINICAN-REPUBLIC
J. Kathirithamby et D. Grimaldi, REMARKABLE STASIS IN SOME LOWER TERTIARY PARASITOIDS - DESCRIPTIONS, NEW RECORDS, AND REVIEW OF STREPSIPTERA IN THE OLIGOMIOCENE AMBER OF THE DOMINICAN-REPUBLIC, Entomologica Scandinavica, 24(1), 1993, pp. 31-41
25-30 million years of parasite stasis is recorded in amber from the D
ominican Republic, by the finding of a species of strepsipteran morpho
logically indistinguishable from Bohartilla melagognatha Kinzelbach, 1
969 (Bohartillidae), and two species very close to Caenocholax fenyesi
(Pierce 1909) (Myrmecolacidae). A new record is made of a species pre
viously described from Dominican amber, Myrmecolax glaesi Kinzelbach,
1983. The history of the Tertiary strepsipteran fauna is discussed. Mi
nimal ages of taxa are extrapolated based on these amber and other fos
sils, higher-level cladistic relationships, and fossil dating of major
host groups. These new findings are consistent with Kinzelbach's hypo
theses of an ancient, Lower Cretaceous/Jurassic origin of the Strepsip
tera.