Hydropeza Sinclair, 1999

Sinclair, Bradley J., 2016, Revision of the Australian species of Hydropeza Sinclair (Diptera: Empididae: Ragadinae subfam. nov.), Records of the Australian Museum 68 (1), pp. 1-22 : 3

Genus Hydropeza Sinclair

Hydropeza Sinclair, 1999: 135 . Type-species: Hydropeza longipennae (Miller) .

Diagnosis. This genus can be identified using the key to subfamilies and genus groups in Sinclair (2011), characterized by its long and apically rounded cell cua, pterostigma absent ( Fig. 28 ), pubescent eyes ( Fig. 13 ), fore coxa with spine-like setae ( Fig. 14 ), bare laterotergite and recurved labrum ( Figs 1 , 3–6 , 13 ).

Description. See Sinclair (1999) for description, with the following addition: male cercus undivided and continuous posteromedially with subepandrial sclerite or often subdivided into short anterior lobe and short to elongate posterior lobe (often termed clasping cercus); posterior cercus medially continuous with subepandrial sclerite.

Remarks. There are 11 described species of Hydropeza from New Zealand and Chile (Fig. 30) (Sinclair & McLellan, 2004; Sinclair & Plant, 2008). This study builds on these studies and describes the nine species from Australia. In a preliminary phylogenetic analysis, the H. longipennae -group of New Zealand was assigned as sister to the remaining species of the genus. The remaining New Zealand species were assigned to a monophyletic clade (Sinclair & McLellan, 2004). The phylogeny of the Hydropeza is reanalysed in this study (see below).

Figures

Figures 26–28. Hydropeza tasmanica. (26) Male epandrium, lateral view. (27) Male terminalia with epandrium removed, lateral view. (28) Wing.Abbreviations:bm-m, basal medial crossvein;cerc, cercus;cua, anterior cubital cell;CuA+CuP, anterior branch of cubital vein plus posterior branch of cubital vein; dm, discal medial cell; hypd, hypandrium; M, medial vein; p cerc, posterior cercus; pgt, postgonite; ph, phallus; R, radial vein. Scale bars = 0.4 mm, except Fig. 28 where scale bar = 0.1 mm.

Figures 13–18. Scanning electron photographs of Hydropeza tasmanica and digital image of foreleg of H. unguicula. (13) Head (scale bar = 0.5 mm) (from Sinclair & McLellan, 2004, fig. 10). (14) Fore coxae (scale bar = 0.2 mm). (15) Male mid femur (scale bar = 0.1 mm). (16) Male mid femur and tibia (scale bar = 0.5 mm). (17) Tarsomere 5 and acropod (scale bar = 0.2 mm). (18) Male forelegs of H. unguicula (scale bar = 1.0 mm).

Figures 1–2. (1) Hydropeza aptera (drawn by Hannah Finlay). (2) McPartlan Pass, Tasmania, type-locality of H. aptera (photograph: M. Driessen). Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

Figures 3–6. Habitus images of dried mounted male species of Hydropeza, lateral view. (3) H. aptera. (4) H. intricata. (5) H. tasmanica. (6) H. unguicula. Scale bars = 1.0 mm, except Fig. 3 where scale bar = 0.5 mm.