Platypalpus longiseta (Zetterstedt, 1842)

Barták, Miroslav & Kubík, Štěpán, 2018, Hybotidae (Diptera) from Turkey, with descriptions of seven new species, Zootaxa 4410 (3), pp. 453-482 : 472-473

Platypalpus longiseta (Zetterstedt, 1842)

Material examined. Muğla prov.: 1♂, Akyaka, pasture, 4 m, 37°03′09′′N, 28°20′17′′E, Barták, Kubík, 23– 27.ix.2012 ; 9♂, Akyaka, river bank + salty meadow, 37°03′16′′N, 28°19′57′′E, Barták, Kubík, 16–27.v.2011; 1♂, Merkez Co. Yenice, 37°6.978′N, 28°19.102′E, 670 m, 8.x.2006 ; 1♂, Muğla University campus, SW + PT, 700 m, 37°09′42′′N, 28°22′21′′E, Barták, Kubík, 17–22.v.2011; Samsun prov. : 1♂, Samsun University campus, 41°22′N, 36°11′E, Barták, Kubík, 22.vi.–4.vii.2014 —all CULSP .

Remarks. This species is distributed in Europe including the Mediterranean, eastwards to Uzbekistan, also Israel and Turkey. The above mentioned records are based on males only because of difficulties in identifying females. All specimens were dissected and, all except two (last two males in the list above) belong to form with “ pallidiventris ” genitalia (i.e., with short tooth on apex of left cercus and strongly ventrally bowed subepandrial sclerite) and simultaneously “ longiseta ” fore tarsi (i.e., ultimate tarsal segment black annulated but penultimate one yellow). This result should be expected because P. longiseta is a very common species and we selected from our large samples preferably specimens with short tooth on apex of left cercus. Several specimens have bifurcated tooth on left cercus (with smaller tooth laterally near base of longer apical tooth, best visible in dorsolateral view).

Interestingly, we found no males with typical “ pallidiventris ” forelegs (i.e., with subequally coloured ultimate and penultimate joints of fore tarsus) in Turkey (although Grootaert (2008) reports this species from Turkey). However, recently we found several such males from Israel including intermediate forms in leg colouration. So, both species may represent only different forms of a single species.