Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90237, Łódź, Poland.
Sci Rep. 2022 Sep 8;12(1):15228. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-18234-4.
Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are among the oldest pterygote insects, with the earliest fossils dating back to the Late Carboniferous. Within mayflies, Leptophlebiidae are a highly diverse and widespread group, with approximately 140 genera and 640 species. Whereas taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny of extant Leptophlebiidae are in the focus of extensive studies, little is known about leptophlebiid fossil taxa. Because fossil remains of Ephemeroptera in sedimentary rocks are relatively rare, inclusions of mayflies in amber are a unique source of information on their evolution and diversity in the past. Leptophlebiidae found in Cenozoic resins mostly belong to the subfamilies Leptophlebiinae (in Eocene Baltic amber) and Atalophlebiinae (in Miocene Dominican and Mexican ambers). In the present contribution, we confirm the first finding of the genus Calliarcys from Eocene Baltic amber by using Micro-CT, which allowed confirming its generic placement by visualizing diagnostic key characters otherwise hidden by a cloud of turbidity. Additionally, we present first molecular data on the extant species Calliarcys humilis Eaton, 1881 from the Iberian Peninsula and the barcode gap analysis for Leptophlebiinae and Habrophlebiinae.
蜉蝣目（Ephemeroptera）是最古老的有翅昆虫之一，最早的化石可追溯到晚石炭世。在蜉蝣目中，石蝇科（Leptophlebiidae）是一个高度多样化和广泛分布的群体，约有 140 个属和 640 种。尽管现存的石蝇科的分类学、系统学和系统发育学是广泛研究的焦点，但对石蝇科化石类群的了解甚少。由于蜉蝣目在沉积岩中的化石遗骸相对较少，琥珀中蜉蝣的内含物是了解它们过去进化和多样性的独特信息来源。新生代树脂中的石蝇科大多属于石蝇亚科（Leptophlebiinae，在始新世波罗的海琥珀中）和阿塔洛菲比亚科（Atalophlebiinae，在中新世多米尼加琥珀和墨西哥琥珀中）。在本研究中，我们通过使用微计算机断层扫描（Micro-CT）确认了始新世波罗的海琥珀中 Calliarcys 属的首次发现，这使得我们能够通过可视化原本隐藏在混浊物中的诊断关键特征来确认其属的位置。此外，我们还提供了来自伊比利亚半岛的现存物种 Calliarcys humilis Eaton, 1881 的首次分子数据，以及对石蝇亚科和 Habrophlebiinae 的条码间隙分析。
