Ancient Fly Species Discovered in Amber from Dominican Republic
Posted on August 9, 2013
A new species of fly, Proceroplatus preziosii, has been discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The fly was discovered in 16 million-year-old Miocene amber by researcher Dr. Dave Penney. It was named after The University of Manchester Professor Richard Preziosi.
The newly discovered ancient fly is a type of tiny gnat. It is just a few millimeters long and belongs to the Keroplatidae family. Dr. Penney has discovered 40 new species of insects and spiders through his amber insect studies.
Dr. Penney said in a statement, "The fossil represents the first record of Keroplatidae from the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. It led us to predict the presence of these flies in the living fauna on the island. After a study we found the species living there. I wanted to thank Professor Preziosi, who has support me through out my research career at Manchester, and thought this would be a novel way to do this!"
The research was published here in Zootaxa.
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