New fossil representative of the genus Helius (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the little known and newly discovered locality Caergen Village of northeastern Tibetan Plateau (China)

[摘要] Helius (Helius) qinghai n. sp. belongs to the one of the best studied genera of the Diptera in terms of its history, with 23 fossil species described to date. The new species described in this paper is the first representative of the family Limoniidae (Diptera) from the little known and newly discovered locality Caergen Village from eastern Qinghai Province, northeastern Tibetan Plateau (China). The age range of fossils at Caergen Village of the Garang Formation is late Early Miocene to early Middle Miocene (16-19 Ma). This finding contributes to our knowledge of the evolution of the genus Helius. A summary about fossil records of the genus Helius is presented in the paper.

[学科分类] 地质学

[关键词] Siyuan Wu;Wiesław Krzemiński;Agnieszka Soszyńska-Maj;Dong Ren;fossil insects;morphology;Nematocera;new species;taxonomy