Eocene amber provides the first fossil record and bridges distributional gap in the rare genus Robsonomyia (Diptera: Keroplatidae)

Until now, the genus Robsonomyia was represented by two extant species: R. reducta Matile & Vockeroth, 1980 from North America and R. sciaraeformis (Okada, 1939) from Asia. This paper presents the first fossil members of the genus Robsonomyia, which is also the first record from Europe. Two new fossil species from Baltic amber are described: R. baltica Pełczyńska, Krzemiński & Blagoderov, sp. nov. and R. henningseni Pełczyńska, Krzemiński & Blagoderov, sp. nov.. The presence of fossil Robsonomyia spp. on the European continent suggests Holarctic distribution of the genus in the past. We also discuss possible pathways of its intercontinental dispersion.

Stempellinella Brundin, 1947 (Diptera: Chironomidae) from Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, with the description of new species

Two new species of the genus Stempellinella Brundin, 1947, S. bazovae sp. nov. and S. chirka sp. nov., from Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East are described. Illustrated redescriptions of males for further three species, S. coronata Inoue, Kawai et Imabayashi, 2004, S. edwardsiSpies et Saether, 2004, S. tamaseptima (Sasa, 1980) are given. Stempellinella ministylus Ree, 2015 is a new synonym Stempellinella coronata Inoue, Kawai et Imabayashi, 2004. Key to the males and pupae of the Russian Far East and Eastern Siberia Stempellinella species is provided.

Wanted, tracked down and identified: Mesozoic non-biting midges of the subfamily Chironominae (Chironomidae, Diptera)

Here we provide evidence for the presence of non-biting midges of the subfamily Chironominae in the Mesozoic, based on descriptions of exceptionally rare amber inclusions. The subfamily has already been reported, but based on a single and unspecified record from Late Cretaceous Taimyr amber (~84 Mya). That record is here revised and confirmed. Moreover, a new find in Burmese amber locates the temporal boundary of the subfamily back to the mid-Cretaceous (probably ~100 Mya). We describe two new genera assigned to the tribe Pseudochironomini: Mesoacentron gen. nov. with the species Mesoacentron kaluginae sp. nov. (Taimyr amber) and Palaeocentron gen. nov. with the species Palaeocentron krzeminskii sp. nov. (Burmese amber), the oldest known representative of the subfamily. The systematic position of the new taxa is discussed, and a key to the identification of adult males of extinct and extant Pseudochironomini genera is presented. Insights in the phylogeny and diversification tempo of the Chironominae and Pseudochironomini in the past are also provided.