Tanypezidae Rondani 1856
Creators: name: Lonsdale, Owen
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tanypezidae

description: Tanypezidae Rondani, 1856
(Figs 257–261, 263–271, 419–420)
Type genus: Tanypeza Fallén 1820: 4, by Rondani 1856: 114 (as Tanypezina). Type species of genus: Tanypeza longimana Fallén, 1820: 4, by monotypy.
The “stretched-foot flies” (Tschirnhaus, 2008) is an almost entirely New World family with two genera: Tanypeza, which contains the Nearctic T. picticornis Knab & Shannon and the Holarctic T. longimana, and Neotanypeza Hendel, which contains 25 extant Neotropical species, although there are certainly additional species yet to be discovered. One fossil species is known, N. dominicana Lonsdale & Apigian, from Dominican amber dated to 17–20mbp (Lonsdale & Apigian, 2010).
The family is relatively large-bodied and distinctive, making them easily recognized in the field, but species are uniform in appearance and homoplasy appears to be widespread. As such, the delimitation of species boundaries has proven difficult and additional study is required. The species of Tanypeza were keyed by Steyskal (1965) and the species of Neotanypeza by Lonsdale (2013), following earlier treatments by Hennig (1936a) and Enderlein (1936). A catalogue of World species was provided by Lonsdale (2014).
Since species currently treated as Tanypezidae exhibit strong physical uniformity, almost all were initially described as Tanypeza, subgenera of Tanypeza, or genera only weakly differentiated from Tanypeza. Only Neotanypeza ornatipes (Bigot) was initially classified elsewhere, described in the micropezid genus Taeniaptera. In an attempt to segregate the modest variation presented by Neotropical species, Hendel (1903) erected the genus Neotanypeza, and Enderlein (1913, 1936) erected the genera Scipopeza, Tripolphopeza, Tritanypeza and Polphopeza. Polphopeza was synonymized with Neotanypeza by Hennig (1936a) but resurrected by Enderlein (1936) that same year. Lonsdale (2013) found that the Tanypezidae split quite easily between a north temperate Tanypeza and a Neotropical Neotanypeza, and since the internal structure of the latter did not lend itself to further subdivision, all of Enderlein’s genera were treated as synonyms of Neotanypeza.
Biology. Roháček (1998, 2016) collected European Tanypeza longimana adults in low vegetation in humid deciduous woods, often near running water. Collections were often at low altitudes in floodplains or submontane regions. Chandler (1975a) speculated that, like Strongylophthalmyia, the larvae of Tanypezidae live in rotting wood and are at least partially saprophagous, and Roháček (2016) collected adults in a trap set over rotting wood. This speculation was partially supported by Foote (1970), who was able to raise larvae derived from a gravid female of T. longimana to the third instar on decayed watermelon rind. Nothing is known of the biology of Neotropical species.
Immature stages. Eggs of Tanypeza longimana and Neotanypeza elegans (Wiedemann) were photographed and described by Lonsdale (2103). Descriptions of the three larval instars of T. longimana were provided by Foote (1970). The puparium is unknown.
Adult Diagnosis. Relatively large flies, 5.0– 12.1mm in length, with stout thorax and long, slender legs (Figs 257–261). Mostly black with legs, antenna and face often yellow in part, but parts of thorax and abdomen sometimes also pale; silvery tomentose stripes on thorax, occiput, parafacial and frons; vertex with flat, circular, variably tomentose “ocellar disc” separating ocelli from back of head; frontal vitta velvety black to dark purple. Head higher than long, hemispherical. Antenna elbowed with first flagellomere usually broad and approximately two times longer than wide. Postgena with long white hairs. Vibrissa, outer vertical, acrostichal, proepisternal and katepisternal setae absent; ocellar seta small. Greater ampulla present. Veins R 4+5 and M 1 converging; subcosta complete; costa unbroken; vein R 1 setulose dorsally (Figs 419–420).
Adult Definition. Body length 5.0– 12.1mm. Colour predominantly dark brown to black, with legs partially yellow (more so towards base), and antenna and face (with lateral stripes) often yellow to pale yellow or white in part; additional sections of thorax and abdomen less commonly yellow; head, thorax and male S8 with silvery tomentose stripes; halter white.
Chaetotaxy: 1 inner vertical; 0 outer verticals; 0–2 fronto-orbitals (reclinate, anterior seta smaller if present); 1 ocellar (small to minute); 1 postocellar (divergent, very small in extant Neotanypeza); vibrissa absent. Pedicel with dominant dorsal seta. Orbital setulae minute, in single row. Gena with row of short, dense setulae. Postgena with dense long white hairs. Subgenal setae distinct. Postocculars small, dark, blending into pale scattered pile laterally; sometimes with one or two postocculars shifted ventromedially as small, thin paraverticals. 0–1 presutural intraalar; 0–1 postpronotal; 2 notopleurals; 2 posterior supra-alars; 0–1 posterior intra-alar; 1–3 dorsocentrals (postsutural); 0 acrostichals; 2 scutellars; 0 proepisternals (sometimes with outstanding setula that resembles proepisternal); 1 anepisternal, usually also with additional elongate setae along posterior margin that are often thinner and shorter; 0 katepisternals. Vein R 1 setulose dorsally. Halter stalk with series of small black dorsal setulae. Pleuron with long, pale, sparse pile, with longest hairs on anepimeron; with large shining to subshining regions. Mid tibia with ventroapical seta; sometimes with slightly pronounced setulae around antero- or posterolateral margins. Tanypeza males with stout back setae anteromedially on hind trochanter and posterobasally on hind femur. Neotanypeza with slightly pronounced setae along posteroventral margin of femora that are only darker and slightly pronounced on fore femur; apicodorsal surface of fore femur and posteromedial surface of mid femur sometimes with strong setae; mid tibia sometimes with slightly darker, thickened posteromedial setulae. T2 with long, stout anterolateral setae.
Head. Large with back relatively flat, abruptly meeting vertex. Antenna elbowed with first flagellomere usually broad and more than two times longer than wide; arista short plumose to pubescent, subbasal; bases of antennae approximated. Frons usually black to dark purple and velvety; strongly narrowed in male; postgena, gena and parafacial silvery tomentose, with silvery band extending along lateral margin of frons to varying extents; frons and face microstriate. Ocelli separated from posterior margin of frons by variably tomentose, circular “ocellar disc” (Fig. 260). Face membranous (slightly more heavily sclerotized dorsally and along antennal grooves), bulging dorsomedially but mostly flat and grading smoothly into buccal cavity. Lunule narrow, small. Gena very narrow, short, shifted anteriorly and angled dorsally, bringing forward posterior genal angle; parafacial and gena with series of slightly longer pale hairs. Foramen large, nearly ⅓ width of back of head and almost reaching large buccal cavity. Clypeus relatively narrow with margins subparallel and anterior margin rounded, recessed within buccal cavity; palpus broadly ovate and laterally compressed.
Thorax. Relatively large and stout; with silvery tomentose stripes, including one from notopleuron to meron or katepisternum (Figs 257–261); Tanypeza with less distinct medial stripe on scutum. Katatergite relatively narrow and bulging. Greater ampulla present. Katepisternum with deep recess anterior to meron. Precoxal bridge well-developed, broad, with suture between proepisternum and postpronotum evident; postmetacoxal bridge present, with medial suture or gap in Tanypeza.
Wing. (Figs 419–420) Clear to variously pigmented, often with apical or anterodistal infuscation. Veins R 4+5 and M 1 converging apically. Calypter broad and lobe-like with marginal hairs long; lower calypter densely haired, “fuzzy”. Vein CuA strongly bowed. M 4 reaching wing margin, sometimes as fold; CuA+CuP not reaching wing margin. Costa unbroken; subcosta complete.
Legs. Legs long and slender. Mid tibia with several small ventroapical setae. Hind tibia deviated subbasally in extant Neotanypeza. Hind basitarsus with ventrobasal protuberance that is shallow in Tanypeza and pronounced in Neotanypeza. Mid and hind tarsi with stout ventrolateral setae.
Abdomen. Spiracles in membrane below tergite; male 7 th spiracle ventral, lateral to inner-distal margin of S8 (Fig. 264). T2 with stout anterolateral setae. Sternites narrow with S1 broader; S2 sometimes entire, but usually with anterior margin divided into separate, transverse sclerite, with adjoining margins of both sclerites doubly emarginate.
Male genitalia. (Figs 263–268) S6 subrectangular, usually asymmetrical, shifted towards S7; partially desclerotized with dark shining band on left lateral margin. Fusion of S7 and S8 extensive; both often with reduced chaetotaxy. S8 silvery tomentose. Surstylus completely fused to epandrium with suture absent; Neotanypeza with stout, pointed inner-distal setae that are also often found on outer-posterior surface. Cerci well-developed, narrow, fused along most of length. Subepandrial sclerite composed of one pair of narrow, ventrally converging plates. Hypandrium with halves separate ventrally (Tanypeza) or with weak to well-developed anteroventral bridge; setae few or absent; arms usually separate. Phallic plate composed of two articulating sclerites that fold flat over each other. Phallapodeme long, rod-like, sometimes with one pair of anteromedial processes fused to inner surface of hypandrium. Pregonite long, narrow, band-like, with apex slightly swollen and setose and base curved to fuse to inner surface of hypandrium. Postgonite absent. Epiphallus absent. Basiphallus small, fused to distiphallus. Distiphallus of Tanypeza long, straight, partially membranous with ventral sclerotized bands and apical “glans”; distiphallus of Neotanypeza flat and rod-like, short to relatively long, usually with at least lateral margins sclerotized, and uncommonly with medial break. Ejaculatory apodeme small, finger-like.
Female genitalia. (Figs 269–271) Tergites and sternites separate. Segments 7–10 forming slender ovipositor that mostly retracts within segment 6, which is widest anterior to midpoint; with long intersegmental regions that are minutely trichose basally between segments 6 and 7 and segments 7 and 8. S7, S8, T7 and T8 divided medially, forming narrow bands, with reduced setae on segment 8. T10 and S10 tapered apically, with reduced setae; S10 with long internal process. Cerci moderately long, curved in cross-section, connected along length by membrane and fused along distoventral margin. Ventral receptacle composed of small dome over series of vesicles. Spermathecae spherical and pigmented, surface minutely papillose; ducts moderately long and clear.
description: Published as part of Lonsdale, Owen, 2020, Family groups of Diopsoidea and Nerioidea (Diptera: Schizophora) - Definition, history and relationships, pp. 1-177 in Zootaxa 4735 (1) on pages 53-55, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4735.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3670762