Leptoconops
Leptoconops (black gnat)[1] is a midge genus in the family Ceratopogonidae.[2] It has a mostly tropical or subtropical distribution worldwide,[3] but some species occur as far north as Moscow region in Russia and the Yukon Territory in Canada.[4]
| Leptoconops Temporal range:   | |
|---|---|
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| Leptoconops sp. | |
| Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota | 
| Kingdom: | Animalia | 
| Phylum: | Arthropoda | 
| Class: | Insecta | 
| Order: | Diptera | 
| Family: | Ceratopogonidae | 
| Subfamily: | Leptoconopinae | 
| Genus: | Leptoconops Skuse, 1889  | 
| Synonyms | |
| 
 Tersesthes Townsend, 1893  | |
This genus is relictual, having had a pantropical distribution during the Cretaceous.[5] The presence of Leptoconops, along with Austroconops, in ancient Lebanese amber makes these the earliest existing lineages of biting midges.[3] Extinct species have also been described from amber from Siberia, New Jersey, Canada, Hungary, Sakhalin, France,[4] and Spain.[6]
Adult Leptoconops females are diurnal feeders, and suck vertebrate blood. Adults of both sexes in some species rest by burying themselves in sand.[7] Larvae feed on algae, fungi, and bacteria. They burrow in moist, usually saline, sand or mud of desert areas and coastal and inland beaches.[3][4]
Species
    
Leptoconops contains the following species:
- Leptoconops acer Clastrier, 1973
 - Leptoconops albiventris de Meijere, 1915
 - Leptoconops algeriensis Clastrier, 1975
 - Leptoconops altuneshanensis Yu and Shao, 1988
 - Leptoconops americanus Carter, 1921
 - Leptoconops amplifemoralis Chanthawanich and Delfinado, 1967
 - †Leptoconops amplificatus Borkent, 2001[7]
 - Leptoconops andersoni Clastrier and Wirth, 1978
 - †Leptoconops antiquus Borkent, 2001[7]
 - Leptoconops arnaudi Clastrier and Wirth, 1978
 - Leptoconops ascius Yu and Hui, 1988
 - Leptoconops asilomar Clastrier and Wirth, 1978
 - Leptoconops atchleyi Clastrier and Wirth, 1978
 - Leptoconops auster Clastrier, 1981
 - Leptoconops aviarum Gutsevich, 1973
 - Leptoconops bahreinensis Clastrier and Boorman, 1987
 - Leptoconops bossoi Clastrier, 1981
 - Leptoconops belkini Wirth and Atchley, 1973
 - Leptoconops bequaerti (Kieffer), 1925
 - Leptoconops bezzii (Noè), 1905
 - Leptoconops bidentatus Gutsevich, 1960
 - Leptoconops binangulus Yu, 1989
 - Leptoconops binisiculus Yu and Liu, 1988
 - Leptoconops borealis Gutsevich, 1945
 - Leptoconops boreus Kalugina, 1991
 - Leptoconops brasiliensis (Lutz), 1913
 - Leptoconops brevistylus Mazumdar, Saha & Chaudhuri, 2010[1]
 - Leptoconops bullsbrookensis Smee, 1966
 - Leptoconops bundyensis Smee, 1966
 - †Leptoconops burmiticus Szadziewski, 2004[8]
 - Leptoconops californiensis Wirth and Atchley, 1973
 - Leptoconops camelorum (Kieffer), 1921
 - Leptoconops capensis de Meillon and Hardy, 1953
 - Leptoconops carteri Hoffman, 1926
 - Leptoconops casali Cavalieri and Chiossone, 1966
 - Leptoconops catawbae (Boesel), 1948
 - Leptoconops chenfui Yu and Xiang, 1988
 - Leptoconops chilensis Forattini, 1958
 - Leptoconops chinensis Sun, 1968
 - Leptoconops conulus Yu and Liu, 1990
 - Leptoconops copiosus Borkent, 1996
 - Leptoconops curvachelus Borkent, 1996
 - †Leptoconops daugeroni Choufani, Azar and Nel, 2011
 - Leptoconops demeilloni Clastrier and Nevill, 1984
 - Leptoconops dissimilis Clastrier, 1975
 - Leptoconops dixi de Meillon, 1936
 - Leptoconops doyeni Spinelli and Ronderos, 1993
 - †Leptoconops ellenbergeri Szadziewski, 2015
 - Leptoconops endialis Smee, 1966
 - Leptoconops exspectator Clastrier, 1975
 - Leptoconops flaviventris Kieffer, 1918
 - Leptoconops floridensis Wirth, 1951
 - Leptoconops foleyi Clastrier, 1975
 - Leptoconops fortipalpus Mazumdar, Saha & Chaudhuri, 2010[1]
 - Leptoconops foulki Clastrier and Wirth, 1978
 - Leptoconops freeborni Wirth, 1952
 - Leptoconops fretus Yu and Zhan, 1990
 - Leptoconops fuscipennis Clastrier, Rioux, and Descous, 1961
 - Leptoconops gallicus Clastrier, 1973
 - Leptoconops golanensis Clastrier, 1981
 - Leptoconops grandis Carter, 1921
 - †Leptoconops gravesi Choufani et al., 2014[9]
 - Leptoconops halophilus Smee, 1966
 - Leptoconops hamariensis Herzi and Sabatini, 1983
 - Leptoconops harrisoni de Meillon and Hardy, 1953
 - Leptoconops helobius Ma and Yu, 1990
 - Leptoconops hutsoni Clastrier, 1974
 - Leptoconops hyalinipennis Kieffer, 1918
 - Leptoconops indicus (Kieffer), 1918
 - Leptoconops interruptus (Enderlein), 1908
 - Leptoconops irritans (Noè), 1905
 - Leptoconops kerteszi Kieffer, 1908
 - Leptoconops kinmenensis Lien, Lin, Weng and Chin, 1996
 - Leptoconops knowltoni Clastrier and Wirth, 1978
 - Leptoconops lacteipennis Kieffer, 1918
 - Leptoconops laosensis Clastrier, 1974
 - Leptoconops latibulorum Gutsevich, 1973
 - Leptoconops laurae (Weiss), 1912
 - Leptoconops linleyi Wirth and Atchley, 1973
 - Leptoconops lisbonnei Harant and Galan, 1944
 - Leptoconops longicauda Yu, 1997[10]
 - Leptoconops longicornis Carter, 1921
 - Leptoconops lucidus Gutsevich, 1964
 - Leptoconops mackerrassae Smee, 1966
 - Leptoconops macfiei Clastrier, 1975
 - Leptoconops melanderi Wirth and Atchley, 1973
 - Leptoconops mellori Clastrier and Boorman, 1987
 - Leptoconops mesopotamiensis (Patton), 1920
 - Leptoconops minutus Gutsevich, 1973
 - Leptoconops mohavensis Wirth and Atchley, 1973
 - Leptoconops montanus Konurbajev, 1965
 - Leptoconops montigenus Clastrier, 1981
 - Leptoconops mooloolabaensis (Smee), 1966
 - Leptoconops myersi (Tonnoir), 1924
 - †Leptoconops myanmaricus Szadziewski, 2004[8]
 - Leptoconops nachitschevanicus Dzhafarov, 1961
 - Leptoconops nevilli Clastrier, 1981
 - Leptoconops nicolayi de Meillon, 1937
 - Leptoconops nigripes Dzhafarov, 1961
 - Leptoconops nipponensis Tokunaga, 1937
 - Leptoconops nivalis Smee, 1966
 - Leptoconops noei Clastrier and Coluzzi, 1973
 - †Leptoconops nosopheris Poinar, 2008[11]
 - Leptoconops obscurus Smee, 1966
 - Leptoconops panamensis Ronderos and Spinelli, 1993
 - Leptoconops parvichelus Chanthawanich and Delfindao, 1967
 - Leptoconops patagoniensis Ronderos, 1990
 - Leptoconops pavlovskyi Dzhafarov, 1961
 - Leptoconops peneti (Langeron), 1913
 - Leptoconops petrocchiae Shannon and Del Ponte, 1927
 - Leptoconops primaevus Borkent, 1995
 - Leptoconops pseudosetosifrons (Smee), 1966
 - Leptoconops pugnax Clastrier, 1973
 - Leptoconops reesi Clastrier and Wirth, 1978
 - Leptoconops rhodesiensis Carter, 1921
 - Leptoconops ricardoi Ronderos and Spinelli, 1992
 - Leptoconops riverinaensis Smee, 1966
 - †Leptoconops rossi Szadziewski, 2004[8]
 - Leptoconops rufiventris (Kieffer), 1923
 - Leptoconops setosifrons (Smee), 1966
 - Leptoconops shangweni Xu and Yu, 1989
 - Leptoconops siamensis Carter, 1921
 - Leptoconops sibericus Szadziewski, 1996
 - Leptoconops smeei Wirth and Atchley, 1973
 - Leptoconops spinosifrons (Carter), 1921
 - Leptoconops stygius Skuse, 1889
 - Leptoconops sublettei Clastrier and Wirth, 1978
 - Leptoconops succineus Szadziewski, 1988
 - Leptoconops tarimensis Yu, 1982
 - Leptoconops tenebrostigmatus Mazumdar, Saha & Chaudhuri, 2010[1]
 - Leptoconops tibetensis Lee, 1978
 - Leptoconops torrens (Townsend), 1893
 - Leptoconops transversalis (Kieffer), 1921
 - Leptoconops turkmenicus Molotova, 1967
 - Leptoconops umbellifer Clastrier, 1981
 - Leptoconops vargasi Clastrier and Wirth, 1978
 - Leptoconops venezuelensis Ortiz, 1952
 - Leptoconops vexans (Kieffer), 1921
 - Leptoconops wehaiensis Yu and Xue, 1988
 - Leptoconops werneri Wirth and Atchley, 1973
 - Leptoconops whitseli Clastrier and Wirth, 1978
 - Leptoconops woodhilli Lee, 1948
 - Leptoconops xuthosceles Chanthawanich and Delfinado, 1967
 - Leptoconops yalongensis Yu and Wang, 1988
 - Leptoconops yunhsienensis Yu, 1963
 - †Leptoconops zherikhini Szadziewski & Arillo, 2003[4]
 
References
    
- Mazumdar, Abhijit; Saha, Narayan; Chaudhuri, Prasanta (21 September 2010). "Blood sucking midges of Leptoconops (Holoconops Kieffer) (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from India". Zootaxa. 2619: 49–55. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2619.1.5.
 - Borkent, Art; Wirth, Willis W (24 July 1997). "World Species of Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (233): 1.
 - Choufani, J; Azar, D; Perrichot, V; et al. (December 2011). "The genus Leptoconops Skuse (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Early Cretaceous Charentese amber". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 91 (4): 285–291. doi:10.1007/s12549-011-0057-1.
 - Szadziewski, Ryszard; Arillo, Antonio (15 October 2003). "The oldest fossil record of the extant subgenus Leptoconops (Leptoconops)(Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)". Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia. 46: 271–275.
 - Szadziewski, R (May 2015). "A blood sucking biting midge from Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber with a key to the determination of fossil species in the relictual genus Leptoconops Skuse (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)". Cretaceous Research. 54: 255–259. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2014.12.013.
 - Arillo, Antonio; Penalver, Enrique; Delclos, Xavier (31 October 2008). "Microphorites (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from the Lower Cretaceous amber of San Just (Spain), and the co-occurrence of two ceratopogonid species in Spanish amber deposits". Zootaxa. 1920: 29–40. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1920.1.2.
 - Borkent, Art (26 April 2001). "Leptoconops (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), the Earliest Extant Lineage of Biting Midge, Discovered in 120-122 Million-Year-Old Lebanese Amber". American Museum Novitates. 3328: 1–11. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2001)328<0001:ldctee>2.0.co;2. hdl:2246/2945.
 - Szadziewski, Ryszard (23 July 2004). "Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Burmese Amber, Myanmar". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 2 (2): 115–121. doi:10.1017/s1477201904001178.
 - Choufanni, Joanna; Perrichot, Vincent; Azar, Dany; Nel, Andre (1 December 2014). "New Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Late Cretaceous Vendean Amber". Paleontological Contributions. 10H.
 - Yu, Yixin (March 1997). "A New Species of Leptoconops Midge from Wudang Mountain, Hubei Province, China (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)". Entomologia Sinica. 4 (1): 56–58. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7917.1997.tb00072.x.
 - Poinar Jr., George (August 2008). "Leptoconops nosopheris sp. n. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) and Paleotrypanosoma burmanicus gen. n., sp. n. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), a biting midge--trypanosome vector association from the Early Cretaceous". Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. 103 (5): 468–71. doi:10.1590/s0074-02762008000500010.
 
