title: A fossil biting midge (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from early Eocene Indian amber with a complex pheromone evaporator.
abstract: The life-like fidelity of organisms captured in amber is unique among all kinds of fossilization and represents an invaluable source for different fields of palaeontological and biological research. One of the most challenging aspects in amber research is the study of traits related to behaviour. Here, indirect evidence for pheromone-mediated mating behaviour is recorded from a biting midge (Ceratopogonidae) in 54 million-year-old Indian amber. Camptopterohelea odora n. sp. exhibits a complex, pocket shaped structure on the wings, which resembles the wing folds of certain moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) and scent organs that are only known from butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) so far. Our studies suggests that pheromone releasing structures on the wings have evolved independently in biting midges and might be much more widespread in fossil as well as modern insects than known so far.
authors.affiliation: Steinmann-Institut, Abteilung Paläontologie, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Frauke
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stebner
authors.affiliation: University of Gdańsk, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Wita Stwosza 59, 80- 308 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Szadziewski
authors.affiliation: Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Zentrum für Molekulare Biodiversitätsforschung, Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Rühr
authors.affiliation: Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: Hukam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institut für Werkstoffforschung, Max-Planck-Str. 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Hammel
authors.affiliation: University Museum of Bergen, Department of Natural History, P.O. Box 7800, University of Bergen, 5040 Bergen, Norway.|Universität Kassel, Institut für Biologie, Fachgebiet Limnologie, Heinrich-Plett-Straße 40, 34132 Kassel-Oberzwehren, Germany.
authors.forename: Gunnar Mikalsen
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Kvifte
authors.affiliation: Steinmann-Institut, Abteilung Paläontologie, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Jes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rust
mesh_terms: D018647:Amber; D000818:Animals; D004175:Diptera / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005580:Fossils; D008297:Male; D010675:Pheromones / Q000378:metabolism*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology
chemical_list: D018647:Amber; D010675:Pheromones