New data on the distribution of Mydidae in the Afrotropical and Oriental regions (Diptera: Asiloidea)Torsten Dikow – Field Museum of Natural History, Biodiversity Synthesis Center, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.

BackgroundMydidae – mydas flies – is with 461 species in 66 genera one of the less speciose families of Asiloidea. Species are distributed in the warmer climates throughout the world (Fig. 1) and arid as well as Mediterranean-type environments are particularly species-rich. By far the highest species diversity is found in southern Africa (178 species). One of the largest Diptera species in the world is Gauromydas heros (Perty, 1833) (Mydinae), which is known from southern Brazil and northern Argentina, with a wing length of up to 59 mm and a body length of up to 52 mm.Although several regional faunas are fairly well known, e.g., Nearctic Region (94 species), Australia (43 species), or Chile (18 species), there are still many regions where new species will be found and need to be made scientifically known in the future. The aim of this project is to fill some of the distributional gaps and describe several new species from regions Mydidae have not been recorded from before.

Mydidae SpecimensSpecimens for this project have been studied from the following Diptera collections: AMGS - Albany Museum, Grahamstown, EC, South Africa; BMNH - The Natural History Museum, London, UK; BPBM - Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI, USA; CAS - California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA; DEIC - Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Müncheberg, Germany; LACM - Natural History Museum Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA; NMSA - Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa; NMKE - National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya (specimens collected by R. Copeland); RMNH - Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Naturalis, Leiden, The Netherlands; ZMAN - Zoological Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands; ZMHB - Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany; and ZSMC - Zoologische Staatssammlung, München, Germany.

ResultsIn this project Mydidae have been recorded for the first time from Kenya, Mauritania, and Tanzania in the Afrotropical Region and Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand in the Oriental Region. Six new species from Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania, and Thailand have been identified and are presently being described. A manuscript will be submitted in early 2010. The distributional ranges of several Mydidae species from the Afrotropical and Oriental regions have been extended.

Acknowledgements & FundingThe author thanks the many museum curators who made specimens available through loans and for the hospitality when visiting the collections. In particular, I would like to thank Robert Copeland for providing the majority of specimens from Kenya (now in NMKE) and Brian Brown for making the TIGER samples available for study.This project is funded by an NSF REVSYS Grant (DEB 0919333; PI Torsten Dikow, Co-PI David Yeates). Previous funding that supported some of the museum visits has been provided by an NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant (DEB 0608258; PI James Liebherr, Co-PI Torsten Dikow). Partial funding is also provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation funding of the Biodiversity Synthesis Group of the Encyclopedia of Life.

CacatuopyginaeThe Cacatuopyginae comprises 6 valid species in 2 genera known so far only from India (only in the north-east and south-east of the country), Indonesia (Java and Sulawesi), and Vietnam. Five of these species belong to Cacatuopyga Papavero & Wilcox, 1974.

Cacatuopyga auriculosa (Séguy, 1934)Two specimens of Cacatuopyga auriculosa from south-eastern Vietnam and southern Thailand have been located in the BPBM and CAS collections and extend the distributional range of this species known so far only from the type locality in northern Vietnam.

LeptomydinaeThe Leptomydinae comprises currently 47 valid species in 6 genera primarily distributed in the Northern Hemisphere with Hessemydas Kondratieff, Carr & Irwin, 2005 from Madagascar and Plyomydas Wilcox & Papavero, 1971 from Peru being the only representatives in the Southern Hemisphere.

Leptomydas Gerstaecker, 1868The genus Leptomydas comprises currently 13 species distributed in the southern Palaearctic Region (Mediterranean, Saudi Arabia, and central Asia) and in northern India in the Oriental Region.

Leptomydas ... sp. nov.This new species is based on 3 ? specimens located in the ZSMC from south-central Nepal and represents the first record of Mydidae from this country.

Syllegomydas Becker, 1906The genus Syllegomydas comprises currently 24 species distributed primarily in northern Africa, with a few species in sub-Saharan Africa (Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Zimbabwe), as well as Afghanistan, Israel, and Spain.

Syllegomydas (Notobates) ... sp. nov.This new species is known from 16 specimens (BMNH, NMKE, NMSA) and is being described from Kenya. It has some resemblance to Syllegomydas (Notobates) arnoldi Bequaert, 1938 from Zimbabwe, but is presently only known from Kenya.

Fig. 1. Map of the world with type localities of 387 valid Mydidae species (red circles) and new distributional records from 10 species in 5 genera presented here (yellow triangles).

Syllegomydas proximus Séguy, 1928A single ? of this small species (CAS) from the western edges of the Sahara represents the first Mydidae species recorded from Mauritania and is also the third locality for Syllegomydas proximus, which was previously only known from southern Niger.

SyllegomydinaeThe Syllegomydinae is the most speciose subfamily taxon with currently 204 valid species in 25 genera. Species are distributed in northern as well as sub-Saharan Africa, Israel, Madagascar, and Spain.

Mydaselpis Bezzi, 1924The Afrotropical genus Mydaselpis comprises currently 5 species all distributed in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Mydaselpis ... sp. nov.This new species is represented by 11 specimens (AMGS, CAS, NMKE, NMSA) and is being described from Kenya and Tanzania, therefore extending the distribution of Mydaselpis to eastern Africa.

Vespiodes Hesse, 1969The Afrotropical genus Vespiodes is currently known from 9 species occurring in the DR Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe and all species appear to be wasp mimics.

Vespiodes ... sp. nov.This new species is based on a single ? collected in south-eastern Kenya (NMKE) and extends the distribution of the genus to eastern Africa.

Cacatuopyga ruficornis (Wiedemann, 1824)Three specimens of Cacatuopyga ruficornis have been located in the DEIC, which represent the first Mydidae specimens known from the island state of Sri Lanka. Previously, this species was only known from the type locality in south-eastern India (Tamil Nadu).

Leptomydas ... sp. nov.This new species is based on a single ? specimen in the LACM, which was collected in a Malaise trap in central Thailand during the NSF-funded TIGER project (Thailand Inventory Group for Entomological Research). It represents the first new Mydidae species from Thailand.

Syllegomydas (Notobates) ... sp. nov.This new species is based on 17 specimens (CAS, NMKE) and is restricted to Kenya. It is outstanding within Syllegomydas (Notobates) for its very narrow postgenae so that the compound eyes nearly touch each other ventrally on the head.

Cacatuopyga basifascia (Walker, 1859)Eight specimens of Cacatuopyga basifascia have been located in the RMNH, ZMHB, ZMAN, and ZSMC collections and extend the distribution of this species within Sulawesi Island, Indonesia.

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