Sepedon (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) species from China, with notes on taxonomy and distribution
Author
Li, Zhu
Author
Yang, Ding
text
Zootaxa
2017
4254
3
301
321
journal article
33211
10.11646/zootaxa.4254.3.1
2cbf5346-a6be-44bd-b93a-1a7e3e45899c
1175-5326
546798
D493D9D1-497E-4BF1-8D61-E54B399A6C5D
Genus
Sepedon
Latreille, 1804
Sepedon
Latreille, 1804
. Nouv. Dict. Hist. nat. 24 (Tab. méth. Ins.): 196. Type species:
Syrphus sphegeus
Fabricius, 1775
(Monotypy)
.
Diagnosis.
Antennae long and porrect, pedicel slender, almost rod-like. In many species, frontal vitta and ptilinal suture absent. Orbital setae present or absent, ocellar setae absent. Usually one pair of apical scutellar setae present, rarely absent. Wings relatively narrow without reticulate pattern, with straight or arcuate posterior crossvein. Hind femur with short and strong ventral spines in both sexes.
Remarks
.
Sepedon
is an easily distinguished genus with a large set of highly apomorphic characters. Some species have metallic luster, and in all species the median frontal vitta is replaced by a median longitudinal depression. Many setae are reduced, including the anterior orbital setae, the ocellar setae, and the basal scutellar setae, which are found in almost all other genera of
Sciomyzidae
and which are common to the ground plan of the family. In
Sepedon lobifera
, even the orbital setae and scutellar setae are absent. The male terminalia is unusually symmetrical, including the epandrium and hypandrium. Among the
Sciomyzidae
, one feature found only in some species of
Sepedon
is a sperm pump termed a “cochleate vesicle” (
Steyskal & Knutson, 1975
).
Sepedon
and related genera are so distinctive within the
Sciomyzidae
that various authors have considered them as a tribe, subfamily, or even family (
Knutson & Orth, 1984
). Some
Sepedon
species are morphologically similar, and several species were often misidentified, as noted in some publications (
Steyskal, 1980
;
Rozkošný
et al
. 2010
).