''Carmenelectra'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus of fly belonging to the family Mythicomyiidae and containing a single species ''Carmenelectra shechisme''.

Fossil records

''Carmenelectra'' is known from a

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

fossil discovered preserved in

Baltic amber Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the re ...

. The fly was very small, with size of . Fossils of the family Mythicomyiidae are relatively rare, with those preserved in amber even harder to find. The reason for the scarceness of the fossil material is presumed to be the humidity of the

Baltic region The Baltic Sea Region, alternatively the Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states, refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Un ...

during the Tertiary, which made the region unsuited to the aridity-loving mythicomyiids.

Etymology

In 2002, the species was named after the model and actress

Carmen Electra Carmen Electra (born Tara Leigh Patrick, April 20, 1972) is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis where she met Prince (musician), Prince who produced her Carm ...

by Neal Evenhuis, former president of the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

and senior

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

at the Hawaii Biological Survey. Evenhuis attempted to contact the model to inform her about the naming of ''Carmenelectra shechisme'', but his efforts were unsuccessful. In 2008, he said: "The offer's still good. I'll be willing to meet her." Names of species discovered in amber (such as the genus ''

Electromyrmococcus ''Electromyrmococcus'' is an extinct genus of mealybug in the Pseudococcidae subfamily Rhizoecinae. The genus currently contains three species, all from the early Miocene, Burdigalian stage, Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispanio ...

'') often contain the prefix ''electro-'' (ἤλεκτρον (elektron) meaning "amber" in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

). The species epithet sounds like "she kiss me" and is reminiscent of the Victorian entomologist George Willis Kirkaldy's alleged practice of commemorating his romantic conquests with names of women. The official description of the species says: "The genus-group name is named for television, film, and magazine personality, Carmen Elektra ic Both namesakes exemplify splendid somal structure for their respective taxa. The species-group epithet is an arbitrary combination of letters."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5043629 † † Eocene insects of Europe Fossil taxa described in 2002 † Monotypic prehistoric insect genera Eocene genera