Biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Fushun amber reveal further biotic links between Asia and Europe during the Eocene

Investigation of fossils in lower Eocene Fushun amber from China keeps proving to be of major importance for understanding Eocene Euro-Asian insect diversity and distribution. Three new species of predatory biting midges in the fossil genera Mantohelea and Gedanohelea are described. Mantohelea sinica n. sp., Gedanohelea fushunensis n. sp. and Gedanohelea liaoningensis n. sp. from Eocene Fushun amber have their closest relatives in European Eocene Baltic amber. This not only expands generic distribution range from Europe to Asia but also strengthens the hypothesis that dispersal between both regions took place even though the Euro-Asian landmasses were separated by the Turgai Strait during the Eocene. In addition, the fossils supply evidence for a lower Eocene age of Baltic amber. Frauke Stebner. Steinmann-Institut, Abteilung Paläontologie, Nussallee 8, 53115, Bonn, Germany. [email protected] Ryszard Szadziewski . University of Gdańsk, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland. [email protected] Bo Wang. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China. [email protected] and Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China.