Leptoconops amplificatus

Leptoconops amplificatus is an extinct species of biting midge belonging to the family Ceratopogonidae. This species was described from fossilized remains preserved in Lower Cretaceous amber from Lebanon.[1]

Leptoconops amplificatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Diptera
Family:
Ceratopogonidae
Genus:
Leptoconops
Subgenus:
Palaeoconops
Species:
L. amplificatus
Binomial name
Leptoconops amplificatus
Borkent, 2001

The species name amplificatus (enlarged, extended) was given in reference to the presence of 13 flagellomeres in the female antennae. L. amplificatus is the only species of Ceratopogonidae to possess this many antennal flagellomeres as well as an elongate, slender cercus. Another species of Leptoconops discovered in the same piece of amber, Leptoconops antiquus, also possesses 13 flagellomeres, but is differentiated by a basally broadened cercus.[1]

References
  1. Borkent, Art (26 April 2001). "Leptoconops (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), the Earliest Extant Lineage of Biting Midge, Discovered in 120-122 Million-Year-Old Lebanese Amber". American Museum Novitates (3328): 1–11. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2001)328<0001:LDCTEE>2.0.CO;2.


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