Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
A new species and key for Rhaphiomidas Osten Sacken (Diptera: Mydidae)
By Van Dam M.H.
Zootaxa 2622: 49-60, 2010
Cite: 1347756 with citation markup [cite:1347756]

Note: Key in Van Dam(2010) treats *males* only
For females, it seems Cazier(1)(1985) is still the most recent reference providing a key for females...and even that key does not treat the females for *all* species known in 1985 (let alone those species described since 1985). But female Rhaphiomidas are generally much more difficult to identify to species, as their often more uniform-looking than males across species and (at least currently) lack any clearly discernible characters comparable to those associated with the male terminalia.

Also, Cazier(1)(1985) provides very detailed descriptions & discussions for all taxa known in 1985, whereas the Van Dam paper cited here only provides a detailed description for the new species described therein...R. ballmeri, from Sonora, Mexico.

Van Dam(2010) *does* provide a key to males of all known and described taxa as of 2010 (together with some nice reference images for key characters of males in a number of those taxa).

Note: I believe there's a small errata in Van Dam...the caption for Fig. 41 reads: "R. spinicaudus, tibia ventral view;", but it appears to show the (rear?) tarsi only (the long basitarsus might be mistaken for the tibia...but cf. the line drawing for the anterior tarsus in Fig. 17, pg. 213 of Cazier(1)(1985)). ]

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.