New fossil findings of the mayfly genera Balticobaetisca Staniczek & Bechly, 2002 (Ephemeroptera: Baetiscidae) and Borinquena Traver, 1938 (Leptophlebiidae: Atalophlebiinae)

Abstract

The well preserved male imago of a new species, Balticobaetisca stuttgardia sp. nov., is described and illustrated from Baltic amber (Eocene). The new species is the second representative of the previously monotypic fossil genus Balticobaetisca Staniczek & Bechly, 2002, so far only known from the species B. velteni Staniczek & Bechly, 2002 from Baltic amber (Eocene). Simultaneously, the second record of the fossil species Borinquena parva Staniczek, 2003 from Dominican amber (Miocene) is presented. Complementary descriptions and illustrations of the studied specimens are given, and distinguishing characters and taxonomical data are discussed.

Keywords:

• Balticobaetisca
• Baetiscidae
• Borinquena
• Eocene
• Ephemeroptera
• Leptophlebiidae
• Miocene

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Wolfgang Weitschat (Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Hamburg, Germany), and Dr David Grimaldi (American Museum of Natural History, New York City), for amber specimens kindly placed at our disposal. We are grateful to the “Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Naturkundemuseums Stuttgart” for purchasing the holotype of B. stuttgardia to ensure its availability to science. We are also very obliged to Prof. Nikita Ju. Kluge (St. Petersburg University) for consultations, help with literature and for granted material on Cuban Atalophlebiinae.

This study was supported by a Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Project No. QS500070505 (GAAS CR), carried out also thanks to the fellowship program of the Kasa J. Mianowski (Warszawa, Poland), and partly supported by a scholarship of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) for the first author.