The Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Galapagos Islands, with notes on the New World fauna

Abstract

AbstractThe Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador) are reviewed. The fauna comprises 17 species, which are described, illustrated, and keyed. Further, relevant New World taxa are discussed, with information on diagnostic characters, species groupings and new synonyms. Nine species are newly described: Amblypsilopus depilis, Medetera galapagensis, Paraclius desenderi, Chrysotus baerti, Asyndetus wigginsi, A. maelfaiti, A. cavagnaroi, A. mystacinus, and A. bursericola. The following synonyms are newly established: Condylostylus longicornis (Fabricius) (=C. detitaticauda Van Duzee), Chrysotus brevicornis Van Duzee (= C. brevispina Van Duzee, = C. latifacies Van Duzee, = C. mexicanus Robinson), and Asyndetus tibialis (Thomson) (= A. ridiculus Parent). The ecology and origin of the Galápagos Dolichopodidae are discussed, and the fauna is regarded as an extension of the New World mainland coastal and littoral fauna. New distributional records from North and South America are included, and the systematic relationships of Galápagos species are discussed.