Euthycera Latreille, 1829

Li, Zhu, Yang, Ding & Murphy, William L., 2019, Review of genera of Sciomyzidae (Diptera: Acalyptratae) from China, with new records, synonyms, and notes on distribution, Zootaxa 4656 (1), pp. 71-98 : 84

11. Euthycera Latreille, 1829

( Figs. 51–52, 54, 56 , 66 )

Euthycera Latreille, 1829: 529 . Type species: Musca chaerophylli Fabricius, 1798 (by designation of Cresson, 1920). Oregocera Rondani, 1856: 106 . Type species: Scatophaga rufifrons Fabricius, 1781 (original designation).

Lunigera Hendel, 1900: 344 . Type species: Musca chaerophylli Fabricius, 1798 (monotypy).

Diagnosis. Two pairs of orbital setae and 2 pairs of ocellar setae, lunule mostly broad and shining. Anepimeron and anepisternum bare. Scutellum with 2 pairs of setae. Hind femur in both males and females without distinct blunt ventral spines, at most with sparse short setae. Wing hyaline with reticulated pattern. Face with black middle spots in several species.

Remarks. Of the 20 described species, 18 are restricted to the Palearctic Region and 2 are restricted to the Nearctic Region.

As a result of our study, at least 4 species of Euthycera are known from China, of which we confirmed 2 species, Euthycera meleagris Hendel, 1933 and Euthycera sticticaria ( Mayer, 1953) . We have not yet determined the remaining 2 species. All specimens were collected in locations in the Palearctic Region of China such as Heilongjiang Province, Hebei Province, Beijing, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, and Gansu Province.

Before our study, Rozkošný (1987) had described Euthycera meleagris on the basis of 2 males from Gansu Province in northwest China, so it already had been recorded from China. He later ( Rozkošný 1992) transferred E. meleagris to Dichetophora , but for reasons we provided in the section above on Dichetophora we are restoring meleagris to Euthycera . In addition to 7 females collected from Mentougou, Beijing, during our study we also found 4 males and 13 females from Heilongjiang Province, Hebei Province, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, and Gansu Province. Of particular note is that 1 female that we examined had been collected in 1980 in Gansu Province, the same area in which the specimens described by Rozkošný (1987) had been collected.

Species of Euthycera and Dichetophora share several external characters such as a reticulated pattern on the wings, a slender body, and similarly-shaped antennae, so some insignificant but important characters might easily be overlooked. For the differences between the 2 genera, refer to couplet 8 in the key and to the diagnoses of the 2 genera.

Figures

FIGURE 66. Geographical distribution of genera of Sciomyzidae from China (2).

FIGURES 49–56. Genera Dichetophora and Euthycera.