New non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) from Lower Cretaceous Wealden amber of the Isle of Wight (UK)

Abstract Non-biting midges (Chironomidae) from Lower Cretaceous Wealden amber of the Isle of Wight (lower Barremian, ca. 128 Ma) are reviewed. As a result, Dungeyella gavini Jarzembowski, Azar et Nel, 2008, the only chironomid species known from this amber deposit, is for the first time recognised from the adult male, and the systematic position of Dungeyella within the subfamily Buchonomyiinae is established. Libanodiamesa simpsoni sp. nov. (Prodiamesinae), now found in Wealden amber, is the second species of the genus previously only recorded from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber. A detailed morphological analysis revealed characters (wing venation patterns, genital apparatus structure) defined as unique for the two genera, the diagnoses of which are amended. Biogeographical features of the Wealden amber Chironomidae are also discussed against the background of their fossil records from the Cretaceous.