March flies and European Cenozoic palaeoclimates (Diptera: Bibionidae)

Abstract

The proportions of the different bibionid genera are used to estimate the temperature changes between the Late Eocene and the Late Miocene in Western Europe. The genus Plecia is a good indicator of the warm Cenozoic palaeoclimates. We propose a new approach for the estimation of the value of the palaeoclimatic information that could be obtained by actualistic inferences using extinct taxa. Other taxa (i.e. Mastotermitidae) that could appear a priori better palaeoclimatic indicators result to be less sensitive than bibionids to temperature changes. Intraspecific and intrageneric morphological diversity is explored for the genera Bibio, Penthetria and Plecia, showing the difficulties to characterize the fossil bibionid species. © 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.