Timeline of Dipteran evolution

[Robin Leech]

Ken,
Look in the Scientific American Special Edition, no date, but it says,
"Display until June 21, 2004".  Picture of a Tyranosaurus-type critter on
the cover, and main headline reading DINOSAURS and other Monsters.  Turn to
pages 64-71, some of the most exquisite pictures of insects in amber that
you will ever see.
Robin

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ken Kinman" <kinman2 at YAHOO.COM>
To: <TAXACOM at LISTSERV.NHM.KU.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2004 8:41 PM
Subject: Timeline of Dipteran evolution


> Dear All,
>      I haven't placed extinct families in my classification of Diptera
yet, but from what I can tell so far, the Nematocera-Orthorrhapa-Cyclorrhapa
tripartite division parallels their apparent fossil record quite well:
>
>      Nematocera (primitive flies) probably originated in the Permian and
radiated during the Triassic.
>      Orthorrhapa evolved from Nematocera in the Triassic and radiated
during the Jurassic.
>      Cyclorrhapa evolved from Orthorrhapa (empidoids) in the Jurassic and
radiated during the Cretaceous.
>
>      As far as I can tell, the fossil record is not complete enough to be
much more precise than this, but it sure beats what we know about a lot of
other arthropod taxa (ticks for instance).
>               ------- Cheers,
>                            Ken Kinman
> P.S.  Should Family Permotanyderidae (U. Permian) be included in Diptera
as a basal member of Nematocera?  Or would it be preferable to leave it in
Order Mecoptera (with a {{Diptera}} marker as its sister group)?  In other
words, better to regard Permotanyderids as the first flies, or sister group
to the first flies?  I think either of these would be preferable to putting
it into a separate Order Protodiptera as I have seen done.
>