Primitive Crane Flies, Tanyderidae, are a widely distributed group of mostly aquatic True Flies, Diptera, generally thought to be a relict group. There are 39 living species in ten genera found around the globe, with 34 fossil species dating as far back as the Early Jurassic, which show a greater morphological diversity than is found in the group today. Larval Primitive Crane Flies are typically found in aquatic or semi-aquatic environments, such as wet sandy soil and the outer layers of submerged rotting logs in streams. Adults vary between about 5 mm and about 35 mm in length, and typically have a mottled pattern on their wings, conspicuous mouthparts, and elongated cervical (neck) sclerites.
In a paper published in the journal Carnets Geol. on 1 April 2024, Dany Azar and Sibelle Maksoud of the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Oil Stratigraphy at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and the Natural Sciences Department at the Lebanese University, Di-Ying Huang, also of the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Oil Stratigraphy at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Mounir Maalouf, also of the Natural Sciences Department at the Lebanese University, and Chen-Yang Cai, again of the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Oil Stratigraphy at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, describe a new species of Primitive Crane Fly from Early Cretaceous Lebanese Amber.
The new species is placed in the genus Nannotanyderus, which contains six previously described species from the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of Germany, England, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Lebanon, and given the specific name granieri, in honour of Bruno Granier, whose research has significantly advanced the dating of amber outcrops in Lebanon. The species is described from a single female specimen, preserved in a piece of amber from the Bqaatouta outcrop in Caza District, which also includes a Spider and a male Chironomid Dipteran.
Nannotanyderus granieri is tiny compared to modern Primitive Crane Flies, measuring only 1571 µm in length. making it the smallest known member of the Tanyderidae (the next smallest, measuring only 1890 µm, is Nannotanyderus ansorgei, also from Lebanese Amber). It lacks an elongated neck, but does have well-developed mouthparts, with sclerotized maxillae longer than the head.
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