Insect leaf mines from the Eocene Anglesea locality, Victoria, Australia

Abstract

The first Tertiary leaf mines described from Australia are six mines from the Anglesea locality in Victoria. They are referable to five leaf mining taxa. Two of the mines are associated with a Lauraceae leaf. A third leaf mine is preserved in a ‘mummified’ leaf with affinities to Elaeocarpaceae. The remaining two mines are on leaves that are too poorly preserved to be identified. Four of these fossil leaf mines are thought to belong to Lepidoptera and two are probably referable to the Nepticulidae. The remaining mine could be either dipteran or lepidopteran. These mines are the only evidence of the Lepidoptera in the Tertiary fossil record in Australia.