Review of the Nearctic Lonchopteridae (Diptera), including descriptions of three new species

Abstract

The Nearctic species of Lonchoptera Meigen are reviewed, including three new species: L. barberi Klymko sp. nov. from Manitoba, Newfoundland, Ontario, Quebec, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire, L. megaloba Klymko sp. nov. from British Columbia and California, and L. longiphallus Klymko sp. nov. from British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Lonchoptera borealis Curran is proposed as a new junior synonym of L. impicta Zetterstedt, and L. occidentalis Curran is proposed as a new junior synonym of L. uniseta Curran. Lonchoptera nigrociliata Duda, formerly known only from the Palaearctic Region, is recorded from the Yukon and Alaska. Descriptions, a key, and Nearctic distribution maps are presented. Phylogenetic relationships are briefly discussed and two sister species pairs are documented.

Diptera of the middle Eocene Kishenehn Formation. I. Documentation of diversity at the family level

“…The modern fauna is represented by a single genus, Lonchoptera Meigen, for which about 50 species have been described. The Nearctic species and much of the information about the genus were reviewed by Klymko and Marshall (2008). The common name for this group, "spear-winged flies", is based on the narrowed wing with pointed apex.…”

“…It is worth noting that Bouchenak-Khelladi et al (2010) date the crown node of Poaceae (i.e., BEP+PACCMAD) at the early Eocene, 57 Ma. The larvae of recent species have quite varied habitats, but adults are associated with grassy habitats (Klymko and Marshall, 2008), and the genus may have largely expanded its distribution with the diversification of grassy, open environments at the mid of the first half of the Cenozoic. This fossil will certainly bring important benefits to calibration in studies on age divergence in the Cyclorrhapha.…”

Diptera of Canada

“…The family has floated around in different analyses, in some cases being proposed as sister to the rest of Cyclorrhapha (Griffiths 1972), as sister to the Phoroidea (Brown 1992, Cumming et al 1995), or as sister to (or within) the Platypezoidea + Phoroidea (Collins and Wiegmann 2002, Moulton and Wiegmann 2003, Wiegmann et al 2011). Seven species of lonchopterids are known from Canada (Klymko and Marshall 2008) and another could eventually be discovered. Larvae are found in wet, decaying organic matter where they feed on bacteria and fungi.…”

“…Two species occur in aquatic environments such as springs, seeps and shorelines (Valliant 2002). Adults feed on fungi, nectar, pollen and dead insects (Klymko and Marshall 2008).…”

Basal Cyclorrhapha in Amber from the Cretaceous and Tertiary(Insecta: Diptera), and Their Relationships: Brachycera in Cretaceous Amber Part IX

“…Ocellar setae long, Diagnosis: Very distinctive gracile, bristly, yellowish to grayish pollinose flies with lanceolate wings and having the following derived features: Male dichoptic; bristles on head long and thick, including long pair of reclinate interfrontals situated very close to anterior margin of frons; vibrissa large, gena with row of 4-5 large, protruding setae; arista preapically dorsal; thorax elongate and shallow, with scutum flattened posteriorly and scutellum near middle of notum, postscutellum very exposed (see Morphology section above for details); tibiae with bristles; male protarsus with ventral denticles. Pretarsus with empodium putatively absent (Klymko and Marshall, 2008) (SEMs I've made of L. bifurcata indicate the empodium may be highly reduced). Wing narrow, lanceolate, apex narrowly pointed, most veins with row of large setulae (except usually R 2+3 ); R 2+3 -R 4+5 converge very close to wing tip; R 1 very short; venation dimorphic, with female having A 1 +CuA 2 looped and api-cally meeting CuA 1 ; crossveins dm-cu and r-m absent.…”