Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026
Laboratory Maintenance of the Lower Dipteran Fly Bradysia (Sciara) coprophila: A New/Old Emerging Model Organism
Published on: April 19, 2024
A new mid-Cretaceous Apsilocephalidae (Diptera) with elongated mouthparts from Kachin amber
Q I Feng1, Xisen Jia2, Shengxiang Wang3
1College of Life Sciences; Capital Normal University; Xisanhuanbeilu; 105; Beijing; 100101; China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization; Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization; Institute of Zoology; Guangdong Academy of Sciences; Xingangxilu; 105; Guangzhou; 510260; China. fqifos@foxmail.com.
Abstract:
A new Cretaceous apsilocephalid genus and species, namely †Protapsilocephala longisetosagen. et sp. nov. (Apsilocephalidae) is described from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber (~99 Ma). Its mouthpart morphology indicates a nectarivorous feeding habit, suggesting a role as a pollinator during the Cretaceous. This finding offers critical fossil evidence for the evolution of specialized feeding ecology in lower brachyceran flies and highlights the morphological and ecological diversity of the Apsilocephalidae in the Mesozoic.
