A new species of the Cretaceous genus Prioriphora (Diptera: Phoridae) in French amber

Monica Moryama Solorzano-Kraemer (1) , Vincent Perrichot (1) , Brian V. Brown , Paul Tafforeau (2) , Carmen Soriano (2)

1 GR - Géosciences Rennes
2 ESRF - European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

Prioriphora is an extinct genus of phorid flies that has been described from the Upper Cretaceous amber of Canada, Siberia and the U.S.A. Here, we present the first record of this genus in amber from south-western France, with a description of Prioriphora schroederhohenwarthi SolLorzano Kraemer & Perrichot sp.n. The holotype and two paratypes were studied using traditional light microscopy and propagation phase-contrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography (PPC-SRƒÊCT), rendering high-resolution three-dimensional models for critical examination. A key to the nine species of Prioriphora is provided, and the diversity and ecology of the prioriphorine grade during the Cretaceous is briefly discussed.

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Petrography

Monica Moryama Solorzano-Kraemer, Vincent Perrichot, Brian V. Brown, Paul Tafforeau, Carmen Soriano. A new species of the Cretaceous genus Prioriphora (Diptera: Phoridae) in French amber. Systematic Entomology, 2011, 36, pp.581-588. ⟨insu-00611464⟩