Pintomyia falcaorum
Encyclopedia
Pintomyia falcaorum is an extinct species
of sandfly
in the moth fly
subfamily Phlebotominae
. P. falcaorum is solely known from early Miocene
Burdigalian
stage Dominican amber
deposits on the island of Hispaniola
.
specimen, a complete male fly. The specimen is currently residing in the phlebotomine sandfly collection in the Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. The centro is part of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Minas Gerais
Brazil
. The specimen was collected from an unidentified amber mine in the Cordillera Septentrional
north of Santiago de los Caballeros
. The specimen was first studied by sandfly researchers Reginaldo Peçanha Brazil and José Dilermando Andrade Filho. Brazil and Andrade Filho published their 2002 type description in the journal Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. The specific epithet "falcaorum" was coined by the author in honor of Alda and Alberto Falcão, to recognize their contributions to Phlebotominae understanding.
s lack of spines, but the species does not resemble the known modern species-group series. The light coloration of the abdomen on P. falcaorum is unlike the P. monticola series, while the P. pacae series have papillpae on the AXIII segment. Papillae on the AV segment of the P. verrucarum, P. serrana and P. townsendi mark them as different from P. falcaorum.
Like Pintomyia falcaorum the Dominican amber fly species Pintomyia paleotownsendi has a Sc vein that is free while the Sc meets the costa vein in P. paleotrichia. In contrast P. brazilorum, P. killickorum, Lutzomyia filipalpis, L. miocena, L. paleopestis, L. schleei, and L. succini all possess an Sc which meets the R1 vein. The presence of a forked Sc vein in the wings, found in some Lutzomyia species including L. adiketis
, is unique among the described species of sandflies from Dominican amber. Living members of the Phlebotominae suck blood from vertebrates, and P. falcaorum is presumed to have done so as well. However, the host(s) of this species has not been identified at this time.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of sandfly
Sandfly
thumb|Sandfly biting a human's little fingerthumb|Sandfly biteSandfly is a colloquial name for any species or genus of flying, biting, blood-sucking Dipteran encountered in sandy areas...
in the moth fly
Psychodidae
The nematoceran family Psychodidae are small true flies with short, hairy bodies and wings giving them a "furry" moth-like appearance...
subfamily Phlebotominae
Phlebotominae
Members of the subfamily Phlebotominae are known outside of the United States by the name sand fly. This subfamily includes numerous genera of blood-feeding flies, including the primary vectors of leishmaniasis, bartonellosis and pappataci fever...
. P. falcaorum is solely known from early Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
Burdigalian
Burdigalian
The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age or stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma...
stage Dominican amber
Dominican amber
Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic. Resin from the extinct species Hymenaea protera is the source of Dominican amber and probably of most amber found in the tropics....
deposits on the island of Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
.
History and classification
The species is known solely from the holotypeHolotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
specimen, a complete male fly. The specimen is currently residing in the phlebotomine sandfly collection in the Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou. The centro is part of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. The specimen was collected from an unidentified amber mine in the Cordillera Septentrional
Cordillera Septentrional
The Cordillera Septentrional runs parallel to the north coast of the Dominican Republic, with extensions to the northwest, the Tortuga island, and to the southeast, the Samaná Peninsula where it becomes the Sierra de Samaná. Its highest mountain is Diego de Ocampo, close to Santiago de los...
north of Santiago de los Caballeros
Santiago de los Caballeros
Santiago de los Caballeros is a city in the Dominican Republic. Founded in 1495 during the first wave of European colonization of the New World, today Santiago is the second largest metropolis in the Dominican Republic, located in the north-central region of the Republic known as Cibao valley...
. The specimen was first studied by sandfly researchers Reginaldo Peçanha Brazil and José Dilermando Andrade Filho. Brazil and Andrade Filho published their 2002 type description in the journal Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. The specific epithet "falcaorum" was coined by the author in honor of Alda and Alberto Falcão, to recognize their contributions to Phlebotominae understanding.
Description
A number of features in the specimen indicate its placement in the moth fly subfamily Phlebotominae and the tribe Lutzomyiina. The specimen displays pre-apical bristles, and four spines on the style, these features combined with the AIII flagellomere being over half the length of the head. This combination of features indicates a placement in the genus Pintomyia. Within the genus, it is placed in the subgenus Pifanomyia, based on the posterior femurFemur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
s lack of spines, but the species does not resemble the known modern species-group series. The light coloration of the abdomen on P. falcaorum is unlike the P. monticola series, while the P. pacae series have papillpae on the AXIII segment. Papillae on the AV segment of the P. verrucarum, P. serrana and P. townsendi mark them as different from P. falcaorum.
Like Pintomyia falcaorum the Dominican amber fly species Pintomyia paleotownsendi has a Sc vein that is free while the Sc meets the costa vein in P. paleotrichia. In contrast P. brazilorum, P. killickorum, Lutzomyia filipalpis, L. miocena, L. paleopestis, L. schleei, and L. succini all possess an Sc which meets the R1 vein. The presence of a forked Sc vein in the wings, found in some Lutzomyia species including L. adiketis
Lutzomyia adiketis
Lutzomyia adiketis is an extinct species of sandflies in the moth fly subfamily Phlebotominae. L. adiketis is a vector of the extinct Paleoleishmania neotropicum and both species are solely known from early Miocene Burdigalian stage Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispaniola.-History and...
, is unique among the described species of sandflies from Dominican amber. Living members of the Phlebotominae suck blood from vertebrates, and P. falcaorum is presumed to have done so as well. However, the host(s) of this species has not been identified at this time.