M U S E U M A N D I N S T I T U T E O F Z O O L O G Y P O L I S H A C A D E M Y O F S C I E N C E S

F R A G M E N T A F A U N I S T I C AFragm . faun. W arszaw a, 30.12.2003 46 203-208

R. H enry L. DISNEY

R evision of G ym noptera L lO Y (Diptera , Phoridae)

Abstract: T h e s ix k n o w n s p e c ie s a r e r e d u c e d to th r e e b y th e p r o p o s a l o f G. orientalis (M EIJERE), G.

molluscovora (BOHART) a n d G. neolropica BORGMEIER a s s y n o n y m s o f G. simplex (BRUES). A k e y to b o th s e x e s o f th e th r e e s p e c ie s n o w r e c o g n is e d is p r o v id e d .

K ey w ords: Phoridae, Gymnoptera, n ew syn on ym s, key

A uthor's address: U n iversity M useum of Z oo logy , D ow n in g Street, C am bridge CB2 3EJ, UK

The d is tin c tiv e scu ttle fly g en u s Gymnoptera L lO Y is u n lik e ly to be co n fu sed w ith an y g en u s o th e r th an Conicera M eigen and Darwiniphora SC H M ITZ. F u rth e r­m ore , the la tte r is p ro b ab ly on ly a su b g ro u p w ith in Conicera (BORGM EIER 1963). The m ales of b o th d iffer from Gymnoptera b y th e ir ch a rac teris tic su rs ty li (figu red in D isney 1983 an d 1994). Both sexes of Gymnoptera d iffe r in h av in g on ly one d o r­sal b ris tle , in s tead of tw o, on the h in d tibia.

Gymnoptera c u rre n tly in c lu d es tw o E u ro p ean species an d fo u r trop ica l species (BORGM EIER 1968). The fo rm er w ere keyed by DISNEY (1983), b u t the sep a ra tio n of the fem ales d id n o t a llo w for a g rea te r d eg ree of v a ria tio n th an w as e v id e n t in the ava ilab le m a te ria l a t the tim e. This is rem ed ied below .

The fo u r trop ica l species w ere all p o o rly d esc rib ed in the lig h t of cu rren t k n o w led g e . F u rth e rm o re they w ere all d esc rib ed from one sex only. The m issing sexes of tw o w ere su b se q u e n tly d escribed . In the firs t case (SC H M ITZ 1929) the first tro p ica l m ale w as d escrib ed . In the second case (BORGM EIER 1960) the su b se ­q u e n tly d esc rib ed fem ale w as n o t co m p ared w ith tho se fem ales p rev io u sly d e ­scribed . F u rth e rm o re BORGMEIER (1969) d esc rib ed the fem ale ag a in as if for the

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204 R. H. L. Disney

first time, evidently forgetting that he had already done so, and again failed to com pare it w ith the prev iously described females. COLYER (1956) attem pted to m ake sense of this situation by m aking careful w ing m easurem ents of limited m a­terial of voucher specim ens of the three tropical species then know n. While he reported sm all differences, his sam ples w ere too sm all for these to be of statistical significance. P rom pted by the acquisition of three females and a male recently collected in the Seychelles, in this paper I reconsider the problem where Colyer left off for lack of sufficient m aterial, particu larly the lack of associated males and females.

Gymnoptera simplex (B r u e s )

Conicera sim plex BRUES 1905: 553 (fe m a le o n ly ). SCHMITZ 1927: 76. M ale , SCHMITZ 1929: 123.Syneura orientalis M e ije r e 1907: 255 (fe m a le o n ly ). SCHMITZ 1929 :123 . Syn. n.Parafannia molluscovora BOHART 1947: 414 (fem a le o n ly ). COLYER 1956: 238. Syn. n.Gym noptera neotropica BORGMEIER 1958 :307 (m a le on ly ). Fem ale , BORGMEIER 1960: 287 a n d 1969: 6. Syn. n.

I h av e ex am in ed the h o lo ty p e fem ale of G. orientalis from a ra t co rp se n Java. It is the sam e species as the fem ales from the Seychelles co llected by D r Justin G er­lach (see below ). I h av e likew ise ex am in ed the h o lo ty p e fem ale a n d a p a ra ty p e fem ale of G. molluscovora from G uam . T hese also p ro v e to be G. simplex.

C o ly e r 's sp ec im en s w ere slid e m o u n te d in De F au re 's m ed iu m . U n fo rtu n a te ly he em p lo y ed 22.5 m m d ia m e te r cov erslip s for the w h o le m o u n ts of th e flies. These o v er la rg e cov erslip s h av e caused co n sid e rab le d is to rtio n . H is use of 16 x 16 m m co v erslip s for the w in g s w h ile excessive have been accep tab le , d u e to the tw o d i­m en sio n a l n a tu re of the w in g s. H is m ateria l com prises a m ale an d fem ale of G. simplex from the B ism arck A rch ipe lago ; a m ale an d fem ale of G. orientalis from Java; an d a fem ale of G. molluscovora from G uam . Both m ales are conspecific w ith the m ale from the S eychelles an d h is th ree fem ales a re likew ise conspecific.

B o r g m e i e r ' s (1958, 1960, 1969) d e s c r i p t i o n s o f G. neotropica, e s p e c i a l l y h i s f i g ­

u r e o f t h e m a l e h y p o p y g i u m , p r o v i d e n o d i s t i n c t i o n s f r o m G. simplex o t h e r t h a n

o c c u r r e n c e in a d i f f e r e n t b i o g e o g r a p h i c r e g io n .I fo rm ally p ro p o se the sy n o n y m y of G. molluscovora, G. neotropica and G. orien­

talis w ith G. simplex.

N e w m aterial exam ined . 2 fem ales, N igeria , C a labar, 1-2 F eb ru ary 1985, a t d e a d sna ils , Archachatina marginata (SW A IN SO N ), J. R eid (C am b rid g e U n iversity M u seu m of Z oo logy - 19-5). 1 m ale , 3 fem ales, Seychelles, C o n cep tio n Is., 7 O cto ­b e r 2002, on ro tten p o ta to es , J. G erlach (CU M Z - 8-148).

N atural h istory. T his species h as p rev io u s ly been rea red from d e a d m o llu scs ( B o h a r t 1947), in c lu d in g from Achatinia fulica BOW DICH ( B e a v e r 1987), an d also d e a d beetles, in c lu d in g Scarabeidae a n d Calosoma sp. (Carabidae) (BORGMEIER 1960, 1969). MEIJERE (1907) re p o rte d fem ales on ca rrio n an d the fem ale from Java re ­fe rred to above w as from a d ead rat.

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Figs 1-6. Gymnoptera m ales, posterior faces of bases o f hind femora and left faces o f hypopygia . 1 -2 - G. longicostalis, 3 -4 - G. vitripennis, 5-6. Gymnoptera simplex, Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

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206 R. H. L. D isney

KEY TO SPECIES OF CYMNOPTERA

1. M a le .................................................................................................................................................... 2- F e m a le ................................................................................................................................................ 42. Posterior face of h in d fem ur w ith several furrow s in basal th ird (Figs 1 and 3).

The tw o thick spines of postero la tera l reg ion of left side of ep an d riu m w ith pale, finely tapered , hair-like tips (Figs 2 and 4 ) .............................................................................. 3

- b lind fem ur w ith a single fu rrow at base (Fig. 5). The tips of the thick pa ir ofsp ines of postero la tera l region of ep an d riu m w ith very sho rt po in ts only (Fig. 6 ) ...........................................................................................................................................simplex (B r u e s )

3. Furrow s a t base of h in d fem ur m ore num erous, the u p p e r ones being d irected m ore dorsally (Fig. 1). H y p o p y g iu m as in Fig. 2 ............................ longicostalis SCHMITZ

- These fu rrow s few er an d all d irected m ore d istally (Fig. 3). F fypopygium as in Fig- 4 vitripennis ( M e i g e n )

4. L abrum b ro ad er th an long and w ith ridges of dorsal face restric ted to ou ter th ird s of d ista l ha lf (Fig. 7); and hair com bs of h y p o p h ary n x less than 10 each side an d w ith far few er hairs in each ( F ig . l l ) ................................. longicostalis SCHM ITZ

- L abrum a t least as b ro ad as long or longer than b road (Figs 8-9) and w ith fine ridges, w hich are som etim es very fine (Fig. 8), ru n n in g the full length of dorsal face; and the tw o, opposed , row s of ha ir com bs of h y p o p h ary n x (view ed by fo­cussing d o w n th ro u g h labrum ) nu m b er at least 20 each side (Fig. 1 0 ) ......................... 5

5. Labrum m uch larger and w ith ridges on dorsal face of labrum stronger (Fig. 9). C ostal section 2 lacks the dorsal row of costal cilia...............................vitripennis ( M e i g e n )

- L abrum relatively sm all and ridges on dorsal face of lab rum w eaker (Fig. 8). C ostal section 2 w ith a t least six costal cilia in dorsal row ........................................simplex (B r u e s )

Figs 7-9 . Gymnoptera fem ales, labrum. 7 - G. longi­costalis, 8 - G. simplex, 9 - G. vitripennis. Scale bar = 0.1 m m.

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Revision of Gymnoptera 207

Figs 10-11. Gymnoptera fem ales, hair com bs of hypopharynx v iew ed by focussing d ow n through labrum. 10 -G. simplex, 11 - G. longicostalis.

DISCUSSION

W hile Gymnoptera simplex is ev iden tly a w idely d is tribu ted b reeder in sm all carrion in the trop ics, the tw o E uropean species are associated w ith the nests of social bees an d w asp s (DISNEY 1994). T hus G. vitripennis has been recorded in the nests of V espi- d a e,Vespa crabro L., Paravespula germanica (F a b r ic iu s ) an d P. vulgaris (L.), an d G. longi­costalis in nests of Bombus terrestris L. (not in sense p rop o sed by D a y 1979, see P r y s - J o n e s & C o r b e t 1991) and B. lucorum (L.) (S c h m i t z , 1953).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

M y stu d ies of Phoridae are fu n d ed by the Isaac N ew to n T rust (Trinity College, C am ­bridge). I am gra tefu l to D r H. de Jong (Zoologisch M useum , U niversite it v an A m ster­dam ), N igel W yatt (N atural H istory M useum , London) and also to D r Brian B row n (N atu ra l H isto ry M useum , Los A ngeles; b u t for type m aterial from the U. S. N ational M useum cu rren tly in his care) for the loan of critical specim ens.

REFERENCES

BEAVER R. a . 1987. Biological studies of non-m uscoid flies (Diptera) bred from m ollusc carrion in Southeast A sia. Japanese J. Sanit. Zool. 38:187-95.

BOHART G. E. 1947. The phorid flies of Guam. Proc. U. S. Natl M us. 96: 397-416.BORGMEIER T. 1958. N eu e Beitraege zur Kenntnis der neotropischen Phoriden (Diptera, Phoridae). Studia

Ent., Petropolis 1: 305^106.BORGMEIER T. 1960. G efluegelte und ungefluegelte Phoriden aus der neotropischen Region, nebst Beschrei-

b u n g von sieben neuen G attungen (Diptera, Phoridae). Studia Ent., Petropolis 3: 257-374.BORGMEIER T. 1963. N e w or little know n Coniceromyia, and som e other N eotropical and Paleotropical Phori­

dae (Diptera). Studia Ent., Petropolis 6: 449-80.BORGMEIER T. 1968. A catalogue of the Phoridae of the w orld (Diptera, Phoridae). Studia Ent., P etropolis 11:

1-367.

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208 R. H. L. Disney

BORGMEIER T. 1969. Bredin-Archbold-Sm ithsonian Biological Survey of Dominica: The Phoridae of Dominica (Diptera). Sm ithsonian Contrib. Zool. 23:1-69.

BRUES C. T. 1905. Plwridac from the Indo-Australian region. Ann. H ist.-Nat. Mus. Natl. H ung. 3: 541-555. COLYER C. N . 1956. A n ew species of Conicera (Diptcra: Phoridae) from H awaii, w ith observations on the

genera Parafannia Bohart and Cymnoptera Lioy. Proc. H aw aiian Ent. Soc. 16: 232-40.D ay M. C. 1979. The species of Hymenoptera described by Linnaeus in the genera Sphex, Chrysis, Vespa, Apis

and Mutilla. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 12: 45-84.D isney R. H. L. 1983. Scuttle flies Diptera, Phoridae (except Megaselia). Handbk. Ident. Br. Insects 10(6): 1-81. DISNEY R. H. L. 1994. Scuttle Flies: The Phoridae. C hapm an & Hall, London, xii +467 pp.MEIJERE J. C. H. de 1907. Studien iiber siidostasiatische Dipteren. I. Tjds. Ent. 50: 196-264.PRYS-JONES O. E. & CORBET S. A. 1991. Bumblebees. Naturalists' H andbooks. 6. Richm ond Publishing C o.

Ltd, London, 92 pp.SCHMITZ H. 1927. Revision der Phoridengattungen, m it Beschreibung neuer G attungen und Arten. Nat.

M aandbl. 16: 30-39, 45-50, 59-68, 72-79, 92 -100 ,1 1 0 -1 1 6 ,1 2 8 -1 3 2 ,1 4 2 -1 4 8 ,1 6 4 , 176.SCHMITZ H. 1929. R evision der Phoriden. Ferd. Dum m lers, Berlin, 211 pp + Taf I—II.SCHMITZ H. 1953. Phoridae. In: Lindner E (ed.), Die Fliegen der palaearktischen Region, 4(33) (Lieferung

171): 2 7 3 -3 2 0 (1 9 5 2 ).

STRESZCZENIE

[T y tu ł : R e w iz ja r o d z a j u Gymnoptern L io y (Diptera, Phoridne)]

W w y n ik u rew izji, z sześciu znanych dotychczas ga tunków rodzaju Gymnoptern L io y , trzy: G. orientalis ( M e ije r e ), G. tnolluscovorn (BO H ART) i G. neotropicn BORGMEIER

okazały się synon im am i trop ikalnego G. simplex (B r u e s ). D w a pozostałe , europejskie g a tu n k i to G. vitripennis ( M e i g e n ) i G. longicostalis SCHM ITZ. Dla w szystk ich trzech o p raco w an o klucz do oznaczania zarów no sam ców , jak i samic.

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