| Bombus cerdanyensis Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| B. cerdanyensis holotype | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Bombus Dehon & Engel, 2014 |
| Species: | †B. cerdanyensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Bombus cerdanyensis De Meulemeester, Michez, & Engel, 2014 | |
Bombus cerdanyensis is an extinct species of bumble bee in the family Apidae known from a fossil found in Europe.
Bombus cerdanyensis was described from a solitary fossil, which is a compression-impression fossil pair preserved in layers of soft sedimentary rock. [1] Along with other well preserved insect fossils, the B. cerdanyensis specimen was collected from layers of Late Miocene terrigenous and diatomites exposed around the small town of Bellver de Cerdanya, Spain. The sediments are reported as from a deep mountain paleolake that exists about 10 million years ago. Study of the paleoflora preserved in the shales indicates the lake was around 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) in elevation in a climate that was warmer than the current conditions in the area. [1]
At the time of study, the holotype counterpart and part were part of the paleoentomology collections housed by the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle. It was first studied by an international team of researchers headed by Manuel Dehon of the University of Mons, Belgium, with the teams 2014 type description of the species was published in the natural sciences journal PLOS ONE . The specific epithet cerdanyensis was coined as reference to the type locality of the Cerdanya region Spain. [1]
Linear discriminant analyses of the body and wing structuring indicated a relationship to members of the bee clade Corbiculata, which encompasses the living tribes Apini, Bombini, Euglossini, Meliponini and the extinct tribes Melikertini, Electrapini, and Electrobombini. Within Corbiculata, Apini has a distinct wing marginal cell and Meliponini has very reduced wing venation, neither features seen in B. cerdanyensis. The overall sizes of both pterostigma and prestigma are different then seen in members of Electrobombini, while the apical area is papillate, showing small bumps, as seen in Bombini. [1]
B. cerdanyensis is one of four bee species described by Dehon and team in the PLOS ONE article, the others being Andrena antoinei , Euglossopteryx biesmeijeri , and Protohabropoda pauli . [1]
The B. cerdanyensis fossil is an adult preserved with a dorsal view of the body, outstretched left forewing, and missing its head, hindwings, right forewing. The forewing is 13.25 mm (0.522 in) long has one marginal cell and three cells below, called the submarginal cells. The marginal cell had a closed tip end that is notably rounded and it is longer than the distance between the wing tip and the apex of the cell. Over the length of the cell it tapers down in width, being widest near the basal end and narrowest at the apical end. The submarginal cells are placed along the lower basal margin of the marginal cell, and are all nearly the same size. A pterostigma is present being small in trapezohedral. The apical area of the wing is darkened notably and has a distinct papillate texture. [1]
A bumblebee is any of over 250 species in the genus Bombus, part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera are known from fossils. They are found primarily in higher altitudes or latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, although they are also found in South America, where a few lowland tropical species have been identified. European bumblebees have also been introduced to New Zealand and Tasmania. Female bumblebees can sting repeatedly, but generally ignore humans and other animals.
Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily Apoidea, containing at least 5700 species of bees. The family includes some of the most commonly seen bees, including bumblebees and honey bees, but also includes stingless bees, carpenter bees, orchid bees, cuckoo bees, and a number of other less widely known groups. Many are valuable pollinators in natural habitats and for agricultural crops.
The Apinae are the subfamily that includes the majority of bees in the family Apidae. It includes the familiar "corbiculate" bees—bumblebees, honey bees, orchid bees, stingless bees, Africanized bees, and the extinct genus Euglossopteryx. It also includes all but two of the groups that were previously classified in the family Anthophoridae.
The Anthophorini are a large tribe in the subfamily Apinae of the family Apidae. Species in this tribe are often referred to as digger bees, although this common name is sometimes also applied to members of the tribe Centridini. It contains over 750 species worldwide, all of which were previously classified in the obsolete family Anthophoridae along with members of several other tribes; the vast majority of species in the tribe Anthophorini are in the genera Amegilla and Anthophora.
The Bombini are a tribe of large bristly apid bees which feed on pollen or nectar. Many species are social, forming nests of up to a few hundred individuals; other species, formerly classified as Psithyrus cuckoo bees, are brood parasites of nest-making species. The tribe contains a single living genus, Bombus, the bumblebees, and some extinct genera such as Calyptapis and Oligobombus. The tribe was described by Pierre André Latreille in 1802.
Euphaedra eleus, the Eleus orange forester, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The habitat consists of primary forests and secondary forests with a closed canopy.
Amarantoraphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from Early Cretaceous, Albian age, fossil amber found in Spain. Currently the genus comprises only a single species Amarantoraphidia ventolina.
Iberoraphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from a Cretaceous, Lower Barremian, fossil found in Spain. Currently the genus is composed of a single species, Iberoraphidia dividua.
Anthophorula (Anthophorula) persephone is an extinct species of bee in the subfamily Apinae known from a pair of possibly Miocene fossils found on Hispaniola. A. persephone is the first species of the bee tribe Exomalopsini to have been described from fossils found in Dominican amber and is the only species of Anthophorula found in the West Indies.
Bombus randeckensis is an extinct bumblebee from the Miocene rocks of the Randeck Maar in southwestern Germany. It was discovered in 2012, and initially placed in the subgenus Bombus, however, review of the Bombini fossil record by Dehon et al in 2019 concluded B. randeckensis should be placed in Bombus subgenus Cullumanobombus.
Elephantomyia (Elephantomyia) bozenae is an extinct species of crane fly in the family Limoniidae. The species is solely known from the Middle Eocene Baltic amber deposits in the Baltic Sea region of Europe. The species is one of six described from Baltic amber.
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Euglossopteryx is an extinct genus of bee in the family Apidae known from a fossil found in North America. There is one described species in the genus, Euglossopteryx biesmeijeri.
Protohabropoda is an extinct genus of bees in the family Apidae known from a fossil found in Europe. The genus currently contains a single described species Protohabropoda pauli.
Andrena antoinei is an extinct species of mining bee in the family Andrenidae described from a single fossil found in a Late Oligocene lake in present-day France that existed in semi-arid conditions.
Gyaclavator is an extinct genus of lace bug in the family Tingidae known from a fossil found in North America. The genus contains a single species, Gyaclavator kohlsi.
Baikuris is an extinct genus of ant in the Formicidae subfamily Sphecomyrminae, and is currently placed in the tribe Sphecomyrmini. The genus contains four described species: the type species Baikuris mandibularis, along with Baikuris casei, Baikuris maximus, Baikuris mirabilis, B. ocellantis.
Bombus trophonius is an extinct species of bumble bee known from a Miocene fossil found in Europe. It belongs to the Bombus subgenus Cullumanobombus and is considered most similar to the living species Bombus rufocinctus of North America.
Okanagrion is an extinct odonate genus in the damselfly-like family Dysagrionidae. The genus was first described in 2021 with a series of eight species included from early Eocene Okanagan Highlands sites in western North America. The genus is known from the Late Ypresian sediments exposed in northeast central Washington at Republic where five species are present, and from the coeval McAbee Fossil Beds near Cache Creek in Central British Columbia, where four species are present. The species richness is attributed to high latitude high alpha diversity resulting from climatic equitability during the Early Eocene in combination with resultant beta diversity between sites due to impassible topographical barriers.
Media related to Bombus cerdanyensis at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Bombus cerdanyensis at Wikispecies