A new fossil hoverfly (insecta, diptera: Syrphidae) from the randeck maar (Early Miocene, South-West Germany)

Abstract

Helophilus nothobombus sp. nov. (Diptera: Syrphidae) is described from Early Miocene lake sediments of the Randeck Maar (Swabian Alb, south-west Germany) and compared to other fossil species of the genus. Helophilus primarius Germar, 1837 and Helophilus villeneuvi Théobald, 1937 do not show diagnostic features that allow assignment to the genus Helophilus or even to the tribe Eristalini. Helophilus miocaenicus (Stackelberg, 1925) and H. nothobombus thus are the only plausible fossil species of the genus. The rat-tailed maggots of Helophilus most probably were part of the biocoenosis of the shores of the Randeck Maar lake. The frequency of larvae of Stratiomyidae shows that there were also suitable habitats for species of Helophilus and related genera. © The Palaeontological Association.