Besides studying recent phorid flies, we also do research on phorid fossils, especially those trapped and preserved in amber. Integrated with information from our Basal Lineages molecular phylogeny project, fossils can provide important clues about the evolution and biogeography of the family Phoridae.

Phorid fossils were reviewed by Brown (1999). The earliest evolutionary history of the Phoridae is in general poorly known, with the first recognizable phorid fossils we have seen being from the Cretaceous of Burma, although early fossils are said also to be present in Lebanese amber. During the Burmese amber period, the two main lineages of phorids were already present: the Sciadocerinae (formerly considered a separate family) and the Phoridae s.s. There are a modest number of fossils of each of these groups from other Cretaceous ambers as well (Arillo & Mostovski 1999; Brown & Pike 1990; Grimaldi & Cumming 1999; McAlpine & Martin 1966), including some intriguing stem-group Phoridae, classified in a subfamily Prioriphorinae by Mostovski (1999), that fall outside the crown-group Euphorida characterized by Brown (2007).

Subsequent to the Mesozoic, the first large amber deposit is that of the Baltic period. Slightly earlier deposits with phorid fossils are known from the Czech Republic (Prokop & Nel 2005), but these are apparently much less numerous than the Baltic inclusions.

Baltic amber is found in Europe, mostly around Kaliningrad Russia, and is dated at about 40 million years old, placing it in the late Eocene. The fauna is a mixture of European and current southeast Asian taxa, as has been found for other groups (e.g., Larsson 1978; Engel 2001). Already, we have found specimens and described species of Sciadocerinae, Euphorida, and possibly even the stem-group Prioriphorinae, which was otherwise unknown from the Cenozoic. About 1,000 specimens of Baltic amber phorids are housed in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, forming the basis for Brian Brown's ongoing revision of this fauna.

The other large amber fossil holding we have is from the relatively young, 20 million year old Dominican Republic deposits. These fossils are essentially modern in appearance, and are of less phylogenetic significance. We have about 100 specimens of Dominican amber phorids.

photo of new genus of phorid in amber

Arillo, A. & Mostovski, M.B. 1999. A new genus of Prioriphorinae (Diptera: Phoridae) from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Alava (Spain). Studia dipterologica. 6: 251-255.

Brown, B.V. 1999. Review of the fossil Phoridae. Journal of Natural History, 33: 1561-1573.

Brown, B.V. 2007. A further new genus of primitive phorid fly (Diptera: Phoridae) from Baltic amber and its phylogenetic implications. Contributions in Science. 513: 1-14. PDF

Brown, B.V. & Pike, E.M. 1990. Three new fossil phorid flies (Diptera: Phoridae) from Canadian Cretaceous amber. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 27: 845-848.

Engel, M.S. 2001. A monograph of the Baltic amber bees and evolution of the Apoidea (Hymenoptera). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 259: 192 pp., 123 figures, 7 color plates, 15 tables.

drawing of same phorid in amber
illustration by Brian Koehler

Grimaldi, D. & Cumming, J. 1999. Brachyceran Diptera in Cretaceous ambers and Mesozoic diversification of the Eremoneura. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 239: 1-124.

Larsson, S.G. 1978. Baltic amber: a palaeobiological study, Entomonograph 1, Scandanavian Science Press, Klampenborg, 192 pp.

McAlpine, J.F. & Martin, J.E.H. 1966. Systematics of Sciadoceridae and relatives with descriptions of two new genera and species from Canadian amber and erection of family Ironomyiidae (Diptera: Phoroidea). The Canadian Entomologist. 98: 527-544.

Mostovski, M.B. 1999. Curious Phoridae (Insecta, Diptera) found mainly in Cretaceous ambers. Estudios del Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Alava. 14: 231-243.

Prokop, J. & Nel, A. 2005. New scuttle flies from early Paleogene amber in eastern Moravia, Czech Republic (Diptera: Phoridae). Studia dipterologica. 12: 13-22.

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