Nepalomyia Hollis

Ya, Igor, 2010, Discovery of Griphophanes Grootaert & Meuffels and Nepalomyia Hollis in the Afrotropical Region with a key to Afrotropical genera of Peloropeodinae (Diptera: Dolichopodidae), Zootaxa 2668, pp. 1-20 : 11

Nepalomyia Hollis

Nepalomyia Hollis, 1964: 110 (in subf. Campsicneminae, = subf. Sympycninae ; subf. Peloropeodinae [ Runyon & Hurley 2003: 403]). Type species: Nepalomyia dytei Hollis, 1964 (original designation).

Neurigonella Robinson, 1964: 119 (subf. Peloropeodinae [ Robinson, 1970: 56]); Runyon & Hurley 2003: 403. Type species: Neurigona nigricornis Van Duzee, 1914 (original designation).

Remarks. Revising the genus Nepalomyia, Runyon & Hurley (2003) provided a diagnosis with major characters that are rather common in other genera of the subfamily. Later about 30 Oriental species were described with variable morphological characters, and Wang et al. (2009) diagnosed the genus as having the arista arising from the apical concavity of the postpedicel and hind tarsomere 1 of males with a basal spur directed upwards. Nevertheless, species of the genus Acropsilus Mik also have the arista-like stylus arising from the apical concavity of the postpedicel and species of the other genera of the Peloropeodes group (except Micromorphus ) also have male hind basitarsus bearing a basal spur directed upwards (e.g., Grichanov 2000; Grichanov & Mostovski 2008). Bickel (2009) distinguishes the New World Nepalomyia from Peloropeodes by biseriate vs. uniseriate acrostichals. However, all Old World Peloropeodes species have biseriate acrostichals ( Grichanov 2000), while some of the Oriental species of Nepalomyia bear irregularly paired acrostichal setae that are totally lost in at least N. pingbiana ( Yang et Saigusa, 2001) . Having reduced male segment 7 and enlarged hypopygium, Nepalomyia is close to Peloropeodes , differing in apical or subapical arista-like stylus and in shape and setation of hypopygial appendages. In addition, males of Peloropeodes have fore tarsus with asymmetrical claws and mid coxa usually bearing an apical spine of glued cilia. Nevertheless, new species described recently in both genera diffuse their border step by step. It is worth noting here that N. jinshanensis has been described with Micromorphus -like hypopygium ( Wang et al. 2009). Wang et al. (2007) have defined Oriental Nepalomyia groups by variable male secondary sexual characters, with the presence of a number of ungrouped species.