Burmacyrtus is an extinct genus of small-headed flies of uncertain placement. The genus is known from Upper Cretaceous fossils in amber from Myanmar. It contains only one species, Burmacyrtus rusmithi.[1]

Burmacyrtus
Temporal range: Cenomanian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Acroceridae (?)
Genus: Burmacyrtus
Grimaldi & Hauser in Grimaldi, Arillo, Cumming & Hauser, 2011[1]
Species:
B. rusmithi
Binomial name
Burmacyrtus rusmithi
Grimaldi & Hauser in Grimaldi, Arillo, Cumming & Hauser, 2011[1]

The genus was originally placed in the family Acroceridae, though it was later reassessed and considered not to be an acrocerid.[2] Instead, it could possibly be a stem group acrocerid or placed in Heterodactyla (a proposed clade of flies uniting Asiloidea and Eremoneura).[3]

The generic name is a combination of "Burma" (another name for Myanmar) and Cyrtus, an extant genus. The species is named in honor of R.D.A. Ru Smith, who donated the holotype to the AMNH from his personal collection.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Grimaldi, DA; Arillo, A; Cumming, JM; Hauser, M (2011). "Brachyceran Diptera (Insecta) in Cretaceous ambers, Part IV, Significant New Orthorrhaphous Taxa". ZooKeys (148): 293–332. doi:10.3897/zookeys.148.1809. PMC 3264415. PMID 22287902.
  2. ^ Gillung, Jessica P.; Winterton, Shaun L. (2017). "A review of fossil spider flies (Diptera: Acroceridae) with descriptions of new genera and species from Baltic Amber". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 16 (4): 325–350. doi:10.1080/14772019.2017.1289566. S2CID 90493326.
  3. ^ Winterton, Shaun L.; Gillung, Jéssica P. (2012). "A new species of spider fly in the genus Sabroskya Schlinger from Malawi, with a key to Acrocerinae world genera (Diptera, Acroceridae)". ZooKeys (171): 1–15. doi:10.3897/zookeys.171.2137. PMC 3288680. PMID 22423193.