Dilophus lateralis, (Philippi, 1865)

Fitzgerald, Scott J., González, Christian R & Elgueta, Mario, 2020, A catalog of the Bibionidae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha) of Chile, Zootaxa 4766 (1), pp. 48-60 : 53

lateralis ( Philippi, 1865)

Acanthocnemis lateralis Philippi, 1865: 638 .

Syntypes: two females (no type specimens found in MNNC, MNHN, NHMUK, NMPC, or OUMNH, presumably lost; see Comments below and Discussion), Chile, Santiago, in valley S. Ramón at base of “Andium” (=Andes). Dist.: Chile. Santiago Province (valley San Ramón).

Refs.: Reed, 1888: 283 (cat.); Hunter, 1900: 295 (cat); Kertész, 1902: 152 (cat.); Edwards, 1920: 149 (com.); Stuardo, 1946: 59 (cat.); Hardy, 1959: 465 (cat.); Hardy, 1966: 9 (cat.); Camousseight, 2005: 89 (com.).

Comments: One male specimen labeled as the holotype of D. lateralis Philippi is housed in MNHN. However, one of the accompanying hand-written labels reads: “ Dilophus lateralis [male symbol]. Macq. n. sp..” Based on a comparison with Macquart’s handwritting (Evenhuis, 1997: 508), the label was clearly written by Macquart. From this label it is unclear whether this specimen actually represents Philippi’s lateralis or is a cabinet name of something Macquart intended to describe. Many of Philippi’s types were unlabeled and “on a peculiar slender type of white pin” ( Philip, 1968). It is possible the Macquart label was added later, but the pin does not seem to fit the description of those encountered by Philip (1968). The two other small labels associated with the specimen appear to be handwritten numbers that do not seem to correspond with anything in Philippi’s (1865) original description.Additionally, Philippi’s original description mentions only two females and the MNHN specimen is a male. While the MNHN specimen is probably not Philippi’s type, further study is required to determine the true identity of this specimen.