Libanophlebotomites ramyi AZAR & MAALOUF & MAKSOUD 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: AZAR, DANY
name: MAALOUF, MOUNIR
name: MAKSOUD, SIBELLE
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Psychodidae
Libanophlebotomites
Libanophlebotomites ramyi

description: Libanophlebotomites ramyi sp. nov.
(Figs 1–6)
Etymology. The species epithet is in honor of Ramy Maalouf, son of one of us (MM).
Diagnosis. As for the genus (vide supra).
Locality and horizon. Qanat Bakish, Baskinta; Caza (= District) El-Maten; Mouhafazet (= Governorate) Mount Lebanon; central Lebanon (pictures of the site and geological map are given in Maksoud et al., 2021: 368, fig. 1), lower Barremian (Granier et al., 2016; Maksoud et al., 2017, 2021).
Type material. Female holotype specimen QBC 42A (Maalouf collection) from Qanat Bakish, Baskinta outcrop (central Lebanon), deposited in the Museum of Natural History of the Lebanese University, Faculty of Sciences II, Fanar, Lebanon.
Description. Head 0.280 mm long (without mouthparts) (Fig. 2A); mouthparts well developed (0.15 mm long), with sharp and elongate mandibles and laciniae (Fig. 2B), palp 0.325 mm long, with five palpomeres (Fig. 3A, B), with palpomeres II and III longest, palpomeres I–V lengths respectively 0.038-0.091-0.088- 0.047- 0.061 mm; eyes rounded, 0.18 mm of diameter; antenna 1.070 mm long, with 15 flagellomeres (Fig. 4A, B); first flagellomere comparatively short, almost as long as following flagellomere; last flagellomere (apiculus) short and drop like (Fig. 4A, B); flagellomere I–XV lengths respectively:0.150-0.093-0.093-0.087-0.081-0.075-0.075- 0.068-0.068-0.059-0.056-0.050-0.050-0.050-0.015; scape nearly cylindrical, 0.050 mm long. Pedicel ellipsoid, 0.093 mm long; all flagellomeres bearing curved setae, ascoids are not discernable.
Thorax 0.820 mm long, 0.500 mm high, not well preserved; proscutum and scutum not strongly gibbous; legs slightly shorter than entire body; tibiae of forelegs each with at least three strong and long setae aligned along the inner side. Wing 1.420 mm long, 0.450 mm wide, hyaline (Fig. 5A, B); humeral vein reaching costal margin; subcostal vein (Sc) distally fused with R1, 0.450 mm from wing base, and with crossvein reaching costal margin; R1 reaching costal margin 0.960 mm from wing base; Rs four-branched, with all its branches extending to wing margin; R2 and R3 separating 0.930 mm distally; R4 and R5 almost straight, reaching wing margin respectively at 1.400 and 1.410 mm apically; M1 and M2 bifurcating 0.900 mm distally, reaching wing margin respectively at 1.400 and 1.320 mm; M1 distally nearly straight; M2 slightly shorter than M1; M3 reaching wing margin at 1.150 mm from wing base; M4 [CuA 1] reaching wing margin 1.010 mm distad wing base. CuA [CuA 2] (Cu after Byers et al., 1989; Krzemiński & Krzemińska, 2003) short and week reaching posterior margin of wing. All main veins and wing margin bearing long macrotrichiae. Halteres 0.300 mm long; knob fusiform 0.125 mm long.
Abdomen 0.930 mm long including genital appendages, dorsal surfaces of all abdominal segments bearing few setae. Female genital appendages (Fig. 6A, B) with cercus elliptic (0.097 mm long); male unknown.
description: Published as part of AZAR, DANY, MAALOUF, MOUNIR & MAKSOUD, SIBELLE, 2022, Libanophlebotomites ramyi, a new genus and species of phlebotomine sandflies from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), pp. 340-346 in Palaeoentomology 5 (4) on pages 342-343, DOI: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.5.4.6, http://zenodo.org/record/7333550