Fossil Diptera Catalog -- Web Version

Tipulidae, commonly known as crane flies, are found worldwide and comprise approximately 4,000 species. Adults of extant forms are mostly associated with moist and temperate forests, swamps, marshes, and meadows, and can be found in the high latitudes as well as high altitudes. Immature stages are semiaquatic to terrestrial and can be found in such places as moist leaf litter, moss, rotting logs, mud, and sands associated with riverbanks. They feed on decaying plant material. Adults, though possessing functional mouthparts, have been only rarely observed feeding at flowers.

Two schools of classification exist for the family groupings. Primarily North American and British authors have lumped Tipulidae as a single large family, while mostly European authors have split the Cylindrotomidae and Limoniidae into separate families. This catalog follows the family treatment of contemporary European workers with the the family Tipulidae herein equivalent to the subfamily Tipulinae of other authors.

Tipulids constitute one of the major groups of Diptera in the fossil record. One hundred species in eight genera are listed in this catalog. In addition to the determined material listed below, Grimaldi (1990) recorded undetermined material from the Upper Cretaceous Santana formation of Brazil and Krzeminski & Krzeminska (1990: 496) recorded the family from the Eocene deposits of Pesciara di Bolca, Italy.

Ref.: Alexander (1931, review of Baltic amber taxa).

*CTENOPHORA Meigen, 1803: 263. Type species: Tipula pectinicornis Linnaeus, 1758, by subsequent designation of Latreille (1804: 188).
decheni Heyden, 1859: 13. PA: Germany (Oligocene) [C].

DICTENIDIA Brullé, 1833b: 399. Type species: Tipula bimaculata Linnaeus, 1761, by subsequent designation of Duponchel in d'Orbigny (1844: 752).
DICERA Lioy, 1863: 216. Type species: Tipula bimaculata Linnaeus, 1761, by original designation.
DICAERA. Incorrect subsequent spelling of Dicera Lioy (Bell, 1888: 2).
Unidentified sp.-PA: UK (Scotland) (Pleistocene) [C] (Bell, 1888: 2).

*ISCHNOTOMA Skuse, 1890b: 115. Type species: Tipula serricornis Macquart, 1846 [= Tipula eburnea Walker, 1848], by subsequent designation of Alexander (1920b: 53).
vasifera Cockerell & Haines, 1921a: 82 (Holorusia). PA: UK (England) (Eocene/Oligocene) [C].

*LEPTOTARSUS Guérin-Méneville, 1831: pl. 20, fig. 1 [1838b: 286]. Type species: Leptotarsus macquarti Guérin-Méneville, 1831, by monotypy.

*MACROTHORAX Jaennicke, 1867: 319 (as genus). Type species: Macrothorax ornatus Jaennicke, 1867 [= Tipula costalis Swederus, 1787], by monotypy. [Preoccupied by Lioy, 1864.]
*MACROMASTIX Osten Sacken, 1887a: 185 (as genus; new replacement name for Macrothorax Jaennicke). Type species: Macrothorax ornatus Jaennicke, 1867 [= Tipula costalis Swederus, 1787], automatic.

bornhardti Meunier, 1917a: 99 (Macromastix). PA: France (Oligocene) [C]. New combination.
cladoptera Cockerell & Haines, 1921a: 83 [1921b: 111] (Macromastix). PA: UK (England) (Eocene/Oligocene) [C].

MANAPSIS Scudder, 1894: 222 (60). Type species: Manapsis anomala Scudder, 1894, by monotypy.
anomala Scudder, 1894: 222 (60). NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].

*MAEKISTOCERA Wiedemann, 1820b: 41 [1821a: 41; 1821b: 41]. Type species: Tipula filipes Fabricius, 1805, by subsequent designation of Macquart [1838: 63 (59)] (for Megistocera).
*MEGISTOCERA Wiedemann, 1828: 55. Type species: Tipula filipes Fabricius, 1805, by subsequent designation of Macquart [1838: 59 (63)].
[The name Megistocera is used here in the interest of stability and common usage. Suspension of the I.C.Z.N. rules is necessary to validate this name over Maekistocera, which has priority.]
gurnetensis Cockerell, 1921c: 456. PA: UK (England) (Eocene/Oligocene) [C].

PALES Meigen, 1800: 14. Suppressed by I.C.Z.N. (1963: 339).
*NEPHROTOMA Meigen, 1803: 262. Type species: Tipula dorsalis Fabricius, 1781, by monotypy.
Unidentified sp.-PA: Italy (Miocene) [C] (Gentilini, 1990: 220).
Unidentified sp.-PA: France (Oligocene) [C] (Serres, 1829: 231).

*TIPULA Linnaeus, 1758: 585. Type species: Tipula oleracea Linnaeus, 1758, by subsequent designation of Latreille (1810: 442).
ADETUS Berendt, 1845: 57. Nomen nudum.
ADETUS Bronn, 1847: 597. Nomen nudum.
MICRAPSIS Scudder, 1894: 242 (80). Type species: Micrapsis paludis Scudder, 1894, by monotypy.
TIPULIDEA Scudder, 1894: 238 (76). Type species: Tipulidea consumpta Scudder, 1894, by subsequent designation of Cockerell (1909d: 84).

ELECTROTIPULA Alexander, 1931: 21. Type species: Tipula pinetorum Alexander, 1931, by original designation.
pinetorum Alexander, 1931: 22. PA: Baltic Region (Eocene/Oligocene) [A].

acourti Cockerell, 1921c: 455. PA: UK (England) (Eocene/Oligocene) [C].
aemula Heer, 1849: 193. PA: Croatia (Miocene) [C].
angustata Novák, 1877: 87. PA: Czech Republic (Oligocene) [C].
bilineata Scudder, 1894: 240 (78) (Tipulidea). NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].
binoculata Henriksen, 1922: 19. PA: Denmark (Eocene) [C].
bouati Meunier, 1915b: 14. PA: France (Oligocene) [C].
brevirostris Loew, 1850b: 37. Nomen nudum. [Preoccupied by Zetterstedt, 1838.]
callarche Cockerell, 1921c: 455. PA: UK (England) (Eocene/Oligocene) [C].
carolae Lewis, 1973b: 707. NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].
carolinae Scudder, 1894: 233 (71). NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].
carpenteri Alexander, 1938: 112. NE: USA (Eocene) [C].
clauda Scudder, 1894: 229 (67). NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].
consumpta Scudder, 1894: 239 (77) (Tipulidea). NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].
cossmanni Meunier, 1915b: 14. PA: France (Oligocene) [C].
crassipes Meunier, 1899e: 173. PA: Baltic Region (Eocene/Oligocene) [A].
digitifera Alexander, 1931: 26. PA: Baltic Region (Eocene/Oligocene) [A].
eocenica Meunier, 1906f: 394 (Brachypremna). PA: Baltic Region (Eocene/Oligocene) [A].
eucera Loew, 1850b: 37. Nomen nudum.
eva Krzeminski, 1992a: 43. PA: Russia (Amur) (Upper Cretaceous) [C].
evanitura Scudder, 1894: 230 (68). NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].
expectans Novák, 1877: 88. PA: Czech Republic (Oligocene) [C].
falco Alexander, 1931: 30. PA: Baltic Region (Eocene/Oligocene) [C].
florissanta Scudder, 1894: 227 (65). NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].
fmartinbrowni Evenhuis, 1994: 58 (new replacement name for decorata Brown). NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].