Generic revision and species classification of the Microdontinae (Diptera, Syrphidae)
Author
Reemer, Menno
Author
Stahls, Gunilla
text
ZooKeys
2013
288
1
213
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.288.4095
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.288.4095
1313-2970-288-1
Masarygus
Brethes
Figs 136-150
Masarygus
Brethes
, 1909: 441. Type species:
Masarygus planifrons
Brethes
, 1909: 442, by original designation.
Description.
Body length: 4-7 mm. Small, delicate flies with long antennae and flat abdomen. Head slightly to much wider than thorax. Face concave, either entirely or only laterally; wider than an eye. Mouth parts undeveloped: oral opening absent or hardly visible. Vertex more or less flat, not strongly produced or convex. Occiput ventrally narrow or widened, dorsally widened. Eye bare. Eyes in male not converging at level of frons, with mutual distance about 4 times the width of antennal fossa. Antennal fossa about as wide as high or about 1.5 times as wide as high. Antenna as long as or longer than distance between antennal fossa and anterior oral margin; basoflagellomere longer than scape, multifurcate in male (3 to 14 branches), unfurcate in female; bare; arista absent in male, present in female. Postpronotum bare. Scutellum semicircular; without calcars. Anepisternum convex; entirely with sparse, bristle-like pile. Anepimeron bare or pilose. Katepimeron convex; bare; with or without wrinkled
texture
. Wing: vein R4+5 without posterior appendix; vein M1 perpendicular to vein R4+5; postero-apical corner of cell r4+5 widely rounded or rectangular, with or without small appendix; crossvein r-m located very close to base of cell dm (within basal 1/10). Abdomen dorsoventrally flattened; more or less trapezoid, with lateral margins gradually widening posteriad, with largest width at tergite 4; 1.5-2.5 times as long as wide. Tergites 3 and 4 fused. Male genitalia: phallus furcate near apex, straight, projecting not or hardly beyond apex of hypandrium; epandrium without ventrolateral ridge; surstylus unfurcate, more or less oval.
Diagnosis.
Vein R4+5 without posterior appendix. Postpronotum bare. Antenna at least as long as distance between antennal fossa and anterior oral margin. Antenna inserted on head above dorsal eye margin.
Discussion.
Originally, this genus was erected as the first known member of a new family, the
Masarygidae
(
Brethes
1908
; but journal publication was 1909, see
Sabrosky 1999
).
Brethes
associated it with
Conopidae
and
Scenopinidae
because of the wing venation, and with
Oestridae
because of the reduced mouthparts. He also noted a superficial resemblance to certain
Stratiomyidae
.
Bezzi (1910)
was the first to recognize
Masarygus
as belonging to the
Syrphidae
and related to
Microdon
, by pointing out its resemblance to
Ceratophya
and the apparent relationship with ants (as noted by
Brethes
1908
).
Shannon (1925)
considered
Masarygus
as a synonym of
Microdon
.
Brethes
(1928)
objected by pointing out that
Masarygus
differs from
Microdon
in the distinct sexual dimorphism and also in wing venation. All subsequent authors have included
Masarygus
in the
Microdontinae
.
Masarygus
was the first described syrphid taxon with a furcate basoflagellomere (in the male sex only). A few other taxa with this character were described during the 20th century:
Schizoceratomyia
Carrera, Lopes & Lane, 1947,
Johnsoniodon
Curran, 1947 and
Carreramyia
Doesburg, 1966.
Masarygus
,
Schizoceratromyia
and
Johnsoniodon
were considered synonymous by
Hull (1949)
, who also regarded "
Masarygus
as a
Rhoga
with fissicorn antennae", without explicitly including all of these taxa in
Rhoga
(the oldest name).
Papavero (1962)
also considered
Masarygus
,
Schizoceratomyia
and
Johnsoniodon
synonymous, because he found that the number of branches on the basoflagellomere (four in
Masarygus planifrons
, two in the other taxa) was a species-level character rather than a generic character.
Van Doesburg (1966)
did not agree and considered
Masarygus
and
Schizoceratomyia
(including
Johnsoniodon
) as distinct genera, because of distinct differences in shape of head, antenna and abdomen.
Thompson et al. (1976)
followed the opinion of
Papavero (1962)
.
Cheng and Thompson (2008)
considered
Masarygus
and
Schizoceratomyia
as distinct groups.
Masarygus palmipalpus
sp. n. is considered related to
Masarygus planifrons
because of the following shared characters: male basoflagellomere multifurcate; base of antenna in lateral view placed above dorsal eye margin; head strongly flattened; face concave; oral opening absent; abdomen dorsoventrally flattened; gradually widening hindward, with widest point at tergite 4; phallus furcate near apex, with both processes equally long.
In addition to
Masarygus planifrons
and
Masarygus palmipalpus
, two undescribed species are considered to belong to this genus. These species are included in the phylogenetic
analyses
of
Reemer and
Stahls
(in press)
under the names
Masarygus
sp. 1 and sp. 2. The latter has three branches on the basoflagellomere, the first approximately 14. Whereas sp. 1 is placed in the same clade as
Masarygus planifrons
and
Masarygus palmipalpus
by
Reemer and
Stahls
(in press)
(based on adult morphology), sp. 2 is placed in the clade containing
Schizoceratomyia
and
Carreramyia
. Species 2 is nevertheless included in
Masarygus
, because of the following characters: basoflagellomere multifurcate and bare (instead of bifurcate and pilose as in
Schizoceratomyia
); arista absent (present in
Schizoceratomyia
); base of antenna inserted on head above dorsal eye margin (not below as in
Schizoceratomyia
); vertex not strongly produced (in contrast with
Carreramyia
); crossvein r-m located within basal 1/10 of cell dm (between basal 1/4 and 1/8 in
Schizoceratomyia
); hind tibia not swollen and without long, brush-like pile (in contrast with
Carreramyia
). Unfortunately, the genitalia of the only known specimen of
Masarygus
species 2 are lost: there is a microvial containing postabdominal segments attached to the pin, but there are no genitalia in it.
Diversity and distribution.
Described species: 2. Neotropical. At least two undescribed species are known to occur (see
Discussion
). All species known so far, including the undescribed ones, have only been collected on one occasion.