First fossil of an oestroid fly (Diptera: Calyptratae: Oestroidea) and the dating of oestroid divergences.

ABSTRACT: Calyptrate flies include about 22,000 extant species currently classified into Hippoboscoidea (tsetse, louse, and bat flies), the muscoid grade (house flies and relatives) and the Oestroidea (blow flies, bot flies, flesh flies, and relatives). Calyptrates are abundant in nearly all terrestrial ecosystems, often playing key roles as decomposers, parasites, parasitoids, vectors of pathogens, and pollinators. For oestroids, the most diverse group within calyptrates, definitive fossils have been lacking. The first unambiguous fossil of Oestroidea is described based on a specimen discovered in amber from the Dominican Republic. The specimen was identified through digital dissection by CT scans, which provided morphological data for a cladistic analysis of its phylogenetic position among extant

SUBMITTER: Cerretti P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5568141 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature