Aphiura Schmitz, 1939

DISNEY, R. H. L., 2003, Tasmanian Phoridae (Diptera) and some additional Australasian species, Journal of Natural History 37 (5), pp. 505-639 : 509

Genus Aphiura Schmitz, 1939

Type species. Aphiura breviceps Schmitz, 1939 .

The type species was described from two males from New Zealand. Borgmeier (1963) described a further species from Australia ( NSW) based on a series of a males and a putative female of the same species. He subsequently described another female as belonging to this species and added a further species from Australia ( NSW) (Borgmeier, 1967a). I now formally name the misidentified female, describe five new species from Tasmania and a new species from Western Australia, and provide a key to the known species of this genus .

This genus is traditionally assigned to the tribe Beckerinini (e.g. Borgmeier, 1967a, 1968) on the basis of the supra-antennal ( SA) bristles being reclinate. Furthermore, Aphiura is supposedly lacking the pre-ocellar or antial bristles, to give a frontal bristles formula of 2 SAs plus 4-2-4 bristles (Borgmeier, 1967a). However, below the ‘SAs’ there are two to four hairs that are proclinate, in contrast to the rest of the frontal hairs. I suggest, therefore, that the formula is not atypical, but is the normal 4-4-4 plus two to four SA bristles, the latter, however, being atypically greatly reduced. This simpler interpretation supports the contention (Disney, 1994b) that Aphiura does not belong to the Beckerinini . I therefore herewith formally transfer the genus to the Metopinini . Furthermore, the situation in Paraphiura (see below) suggests that the precise inclination of the SA bristles is not of tribal significance and that the Beckerinini , as presently conceived, cannot be characterized.