Revision of the genus Conicera Meigen (Diptera, Phoridae) from China
Author
Liu, Guang-Chun
text
Zootaxa
2023
2023-12-04
5380
5
401
445
https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/download/zootaxa.5380.5.1/52398
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.5380.5.1
1175-5326
10254359
ACB1AD75-CC1F-424C-81BD-D6DC77330F30
The genus
Conicera
Meigen
Conicera
Meigen, 1830: 226
.
Hypocerina
Malloch, 1913: 23
;
Schmitz, 1953: 281
(syn.).
Type
species.
Conicera atra
Meigen
=
Phora dauci
Meigen.
Diagnosis.
Frons dark brown, broader than high, with fine setulae and dense microsetae. Frontal median furrow absent. Supra-antennal setae short, closed to each other, sometimes absent. Lower fronto-orbital setae present or absent. Male first flagellomere with apex drawn-out into long, tapered extension, bearing apical arista. Female first flagellomere globose, a little pointed at apex. Anepisternum bare, undivided. Scutellum with 2 pairs of setulae, anterior pair shorter than posterior. Fore tibia with a row of near-dorsal setulae, the uppermost is the longest. Posterior face of mid femur with or without sense-organ. The typical sense-organ consists of two parts: a slender groove or rounded pit, and a long tubular or short conical apical process. Mid tibia with the normal basal pair of setae, a short pre-apical seta and a short and a very long apical spur. Setulae below basal half of hind femur shorter than those of anteroventral row of outer half. Hind tibia without palisades, with an anterior and an anterodorsal setae near end of basal quarter, an anterodorsal just below middle, a short anterior seta in last quarter. Wing hyaline or light brown. Vein C often less than half of wing length. R
2+3
absent. A small setula at base of Rs (radial sector basisetula, Rs basisetula, RBS) present or absent. Alula with 1 seta. Abdominal tergites with scattered setulae, tergite II the broadest, others backward gradually narrow. Terminalia globose or ellipse. Surstyli developed, often with inner teeth. Anal tube short.
Schmitz (1953)
divided the genus into three subgenera,
Conicera
,
Tritoconicera
and
Hypocerina
, based on presence or absence of vein Rs basisetula, sense-organ of mid femur and supra-antennal setae. However, subsequent studies showed that supra-antennal seta and Rs basisetula, except sense-organ of mid femur, should be plesiomorphic, therefore, the system is not generally accepted (
Borgmeier 1963
,
Disney 1990
).
The taxonomic status of the genus is currently dubious.
Schmitz (1953)
noted that the genus is more closely related with
Darwiniphora
Schmitz
and
Gymnoptera
Lioy.
Borgmeier (1963)
agreed that the genus was related to
Gymnoptera
, but
Darwiniphora
should be classified into
Conicera
.
Brown (1992)
established the subfamily
Conicerinae
and proposed that
Darwiniphora
is a sister group to
Conicera
and whose common ancestor was
Contopteryx
Schmitz
and
Gymnoptera
Macquart. Subsequently,
Brown
et al
. (2015)
named this group to coniceres, containing
Conicera
,
Darwiniphora
, and
Contopteryx
.
Distribution.
Cosmopolitan.