ISSN 0968-0462 The Natural History Museum HISTABV MUSEUI 9 MAY 2012 I PRESENTED I GENERAL LIBRAR Y Geology Series VOLUME 56 NUMBER 1 29 JUNE 2000 The Bulletin of The Natural History Museum (formerly: Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) ), instituted in 1949, is issued in four scientific series, Botany, Entomology, Geology (incorporating Mineralogy) and Zoology. The Geology Series is edited in the Museum's Department of Palaeontology Keeper of Palaeontology: Prof S.K. Donovan Editor of Bulletin: Dr M.K. Howarth Assistant Editor: Mr C. Jones Papers in the Bulletin are primarily the results of research carried out on the unique and ever- growing collections of the Museum, both by the scientific staff and by specialists from elsewhere who make use of the Museum's resources. Many of the papers are works of reference that will remain indispensable for years to come. All papers submitted for publication are subjected to external peer review for acceptance. 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(Geol.) © The Natural History Museum, 2000 Geology Series ISSN 0968-0462 Vol. 56, No. 1, pp. 1-83 The Natural History Museum Cromwell Road London SW7 5BD Issued 29 June 2000 Typeset by Ann Buchan (Typesetters), Middlesex Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd, at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset . Bull. nat. Hist. Mus. Lond. (Geol.) 56(1) Issued 29 June 2000 The history, geology, age and fauna (mainly insects) of Burmese amber, Myanmar CONTENTS 1. A review of the history, geology and age of Burmese amber (Burmite), by V.V. Zherikhin & A.J. Ross 3 2. A list of type and figured specimens of insects and other inclusions in Burmese amber, by A. J. Ross & P.V. York 11 3. A preliminary list of arthropod families present in the Burmese amber collection at The Natural History Museum, London, by A. P. Rasnitsyn &A. J. Ross 21 4. The first fossil prosopistomatid mayfly from Burmese amber (Ephemeroptera; Prosopistomatidae), by D. Sinitshenkova 25 5. The most primitive whiteflies (Hemiptera; Aleyrodidae; Bernaeinae subfam. nov.) from the Mesozoic of Asia and Burmese amber, with an overview of Burmese amber hemipterans, by D.E. Shcherbakov 29 6. A new genus and species of Lophioneuridae from Burmese amber (Thripida (=Thysanoptera): Lophioneurina), by V. V. Zherikhin 39 7. Burmapsilocephala cockerelli, a new genus and species of Asiloidea (Diptera) from Burmese amber, by S.D. Gaimari & M.B. Mostovski 43 8. Phantom midges (Diptera: Chaoboridae) from Burmese amber, by E. D. Lukashevich 47 9. An archaic new genus of Evaniidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) and implications for the biology of ancestral evanioids, by H.H. Basibuyuk, A.R Rasnitsyn, M.G. Fitton & D.L.J. Quicke 53 10. Digger Wasps (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae) in Burmese Amber, by A. V. Antropov 59 1 1 Electrobisium acutum Cockerell, a cheiridiid pseudoscorpion from Burmese amber, with remarks on the validity of the Cheiridioidea (Arachnida, Chelonethi), by M.L.I. Judson 79 "¥hI natural history museum " 9 MAY 2012 PRESENTED I GENERAL LI BRARY y 8 Bull. nat. Hist. Mus. Land. (Geol.) 56(1): 3-10 Issued 29 June 2000 A review of the history, geology and age of Burmese amber (Burmite) V.V. ZHERIKHIN Arthropod Laboratory, Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya Str. 123, Moscow 117647, Russia A.J. ROSS Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK SYNOPSIS. An overview of the present state of knowledge of Burmese amber is given based on an exhaustive literature search. st Early Chinese literature suggests Burmese amber has been known since the 1 century AD and was later traded from northern Burma to Yunnan Province. Amber has been recorded from five regions in Burma (Myanmar): the Hukawng Valley, Shwebo District, Thayetmo District, Pakokku District and Pegu District, but only Burmite from the Hukawng Valley in northern Burma has been commercially mined. The first visit by a westerner to the amber mines in the Hukawng Valley was by Captain Hannay in 1836. Subsequent visits by members of the Geological Survey of India showed that the amber-bearing deposits are of Middle Eocene age and consist of shales and sandstones with subordinate limestone and conglomerate horizons. The archaic insects in Burmite and the presence of derived clasts in the amber-bearing sediments suggest that the amber has been reworked and is probably of Upper Cretaceous age. INTRODUCTION Fraquet (1987). Laufer published translations of passages referring to amber from ancient Chinese literature. He considers that the st Chinese became familiar with Burmese amber in the 1 century AD Amber is fossilized plant resin. There are many different types which and that trade in amber between Burma and Yunnan Province be- may contain the remains of organisms that were trapped by liquid came established soon after. This was based on the Hou Han shu resin. They provide much palaeontological information, particularly (Annals of the Later Han Dynasty, 205-265 AD), which mentioned about small terrestrial animals which are rarely preserved in amber in Ai lao, the ancient Shan kingdom in Yunnan which formed sediments. The inclusions in amber, such as insects, often show very st in the 1 century AD. Laufer indicated that mentions of amber from delicate morphological details which can rarely, or never, be seen on Yunnan in the Chinese literature became more frequent during the other kinds of fossils. For a long time, Baltic amber was the only following centuries. The production of amber in Yung ch'ang in fossil resin extensively studied palaeontologically while records of Yunnan is recorded in the Kuangya (a dictionary from 227-240 AD), inclusions in other resins were scarce and mostly anecdotal. The the Po wu chi (Records of remarkable objects, from 232-300 AD) situation changed during the last decades when systematic studies of and the Pieh lu (a medical book of uncertain age, referred to in a later organic inclusions in various fossil resins were developed (see work of 452-536 AD). Laufer (1906) however, considered that the Poinar, 1992 for a review). However, many kinds of amber are still amber from Yunnan originally came from Burma as Yung ch'ang is poorly investigated. only 1 80 km from the amber mining area in Burma. Pumpelly ( 1 867) Burmese amber, or Burmite is one of the most mysterious vari- also recorded amber from Yungchang in Yunnan, and also from other eties of fossil resins in the world. Though known for nearly 2000 localities in Shansi, Shensi, Szchuen, and Kwangtung provinces; so years in southeastern Asia and for four centuries in Europe, it is it appears that China does have its own amber deposits. Laufer poorly investigated scientifically, first of all because of the location (1906), however, was sceptical about reports of native Chinese of its deposits in a remote area of Upper Burma which was never easy amber and considered that they may refer instead to other resins. It to reach by a traveller. In this area there were the so-called should be noted that European amber was being imported into China 'unadministrated territories' in colonial times and later, in independ- th at least as early as the 1 century and that the Chinese had the ability ent Burma (now Myanmar), this area, situated between the 'Golden to fake amber from early times (Laufer, 1906). The very large piece Triangle' and the politically unstable Nagas region of India, remains of Burmese amber figured by Grimaldi ( 1 996, p. 4 1 ) and Ross ( 1 998, controlled rather by the local clans and insurrectionists than by the p. 14, fig. 33) (Natural History Museum (London), Mineralogy central government in Rangoon. Few geologists have visited this Department, specimen no. 1940,37) was originally purchased in area, each for a short time only, and the published data on the amber Guangzhou (Canton), China in 1860. D. Grimaldi and A. Shedrinsky occurrences are scarce. A comprehensive review of the literature has (pers. comm.) have confirmed that it is Burmese amber using pyroly- been undertaken and this paper outlines the present state of know- sis-gas chromatography. An analysis of the old Chinese literature ledge of Burmese amber. together with archaeological data may elucidate the relative impor- tance of Burmese amber in ancient and medieval China but at present this question seems to be unclear. It appears that there are no reviews THE HISTORY OF BURMITE of records of amber from old Burmese written sources which would be expected. It may be stated that Burmese amber was known in st for time, perhaps since the 1 century AD, and that 0-1800 AD China a very long the export of amber from Burma to Yunnan continued for many The most thorough account of the early history of trade in Burmese centuries. According to Laufer (1906), the first European who men- amber is by Laufer (1906), summarized by Penzer (1922) and tioned Burmese amber was the Portuguese Jesuit Father Alvarez © The Natural History Museum, 2000 V.V.