Mydas flies from the deserts of south-western Africa

Namadytes vansoni Namibimydas psamminosCephalocera sp. © S. Marshall

Torsten Dikow @TDikow

SmithsonianNational Museum of Natural History

. deserts in south-western Africa

Namib, Kalahari, and Karoo◊ Namib › true desert › arid conditions for past 55 – 80 my › annual rainfall 5 – 85 mm (0.2 – 3.3 inch)

◊ Karoo › Succulent and Nama Karoo › annual rainfall 20 – 520 mm (0.8 – 20.5 inch)

◊ Kalahari › savanna › annual rainfall 235 – 500 mm (9.3 – 19.7 inch)

map from Lovegrove, B. 1993. The living deserts of southern Africa. Fernwood Press.

Mydidae – mydas flies

.. mydas flies

◊ adult flies flower-feeders › some adults do not feed at all

◊ size = 8 – 60 mm (0.35 – 2.36 inch)

◊ 473 species in 66 genera

◊ southern Africa with highest species number

Rhaphiomidas auratus © G. Ballmer Anomalomydas mackerrasi © J. Hort

Diochlistus auripennis © P. ChewMydas xanthopterus © S. Marshall

Namib gravel plains with Welwitschia mirabilis

Namib sand dunes (gravel plains in distance)

Succulent Karoo with Aloe dichotoma

Kalahari red sand dunes with Acacia erioloba

... mydas flies and deserts in south-western Africa

.... mydas-fly genera

◊ Namibimydas › 4 species, reviewed Dikow 2012 › 23 specimens, 7 collections (NMNH)

◊ Namadytes › 3 species, reviewed Dikow & Leon 2014 › 68 specimens,10 collections (NMNH)

◊ Nothomydas › 4 species, reviewed Dikow 2012 › 5 specimens, 3 collections

◊ Parectyphus › 1 species, reviewed Lyons & Dikow 2010 › 9 specimens, 5 collections

Lyons & Dikow 2010 doi: 10.3897/zookeys.73.840 – Dikow 2012 doi:10.5733/afin.053.0105 – Dikow & Leon 2014 doi: 10.3897/BDJ.2.e1071

5 mm

5 mm

5 mm

5 mm

..... enigmatic mydas-fly species

◊ Syllegomydas new species › 3 female specimens, 2 collections

◊ new genus and new species › 9 specimens, 2 collections (NMNH)

5 mm 5 mm

head in ventral view head in ventral view

Evolutionary relationships of Mydidae › morphological data › 131 species, 231 characters › tree length 1839 steps › 346 trees › strict consensus tree shown

...... phylogenetic diversity in deserts of south-western Africa

Ectyphus pinguis

Ectyphus armipes

Heteromydas bicolor

Ectyphus amboseli M

Opomydas townsendi

Parectyphus namibiensis

Afroleptomydas A sp Clanwilliam

Syllegomydas S elachys

Afroleptomydas A inhacae

Nomoneura caffra

Afroleptomydas C sp Stampriet

Cephalocera imitata MCephalocera sp

Arenomydas namaquensis M

Leptomydas turcicus

Syllegomydas N arnoldi M

Leptomydas corsicanus

Nemomydas lamia

Mitrodetus microglossa

Vespiodes phaios

Mitrodetus dentitarsis

Nemomydas melanopogon

Leptomydas rapti M

Leptomydas lusitanicus

Cephalocera sp Sors Sors

Mydaselpis sp nov Gamsberg M

Syllegomydas N heothinosSyllegomydas S algiricus

Afroleptomydas A suffusipennis

Namadytes vansoni

Namibimydas psamminos

Cephalocera sp Papendorp

Afroleptomydas A opacicinctus

Diochlistinae Argentina F

Syllegomydas S proximus

Notosyllegomydas brincki

Neolaparopsis puncturatus

Mitrodetus nanoglossa M

Arenomydas callosus

Syllegomydas S palestinensis

Nomoneuroides natalensis

Afroleptomydas A rufithorax

Hessemydas parkeri M

Haplomydas crassipes

Mitrodetus dimidiatus

Afroleptomydas A sp Obib

Vespiodes leopolditertii

Afroleptomydas C mauricei

Eremomidas bek

Syllegomydas N astrictusHispanomydas hispanicus

Hessemydas daugeroni

Pseudonomoneura hirta

Namadytes cimbebasiensis

Syllegomydas sp nov Ruacana

Nomoneura paradoxa

Mydaselpis ngurumani

Syll gen nov sp nov minute proboscis F

Leptomydas sardous

Namibimydas stuckenbergi

Arenomydas partitus

Pseudonomoneura micheneri

Nothomydas picketti

Nemomydas venosus

Cephalocera longirostris

Eremohaplomydas desertorum

Eremomidas sp nov Tiega M

Syllegomydas S lineatus

Eremomidas arabicus

Afroleptomydas A consanguinensis

Afroleptomydas C sp Gobabeb

Arenomydas caerulescens

Pseudonomoneura bajaensis

Leptomydas notos

Syllegomydas S vittatus

Nemomydas pantherinus

Lachnocorynus sp nov Kotwa M

Nemomydas gruenbergi M

Afroleptomydas A omeri

Syllegomydas N dispar

Afroleptomydas A paganus

Halterorchis karooensis F

Nemomydas brachyrhynchus

Mydaselpis sp nov Daan

Afroleptomydas C sp Koeroegab

Hessemydas seyrigi

Anomalomydinae

Apiophora paulseni

Rhaphiomidinae

Midacritus wagenknechti

Miltinus minutus

Midacritus stuardoanus

Ectyphinae

Apiophora quadricinctata

Miltinus sp. (Northern Territory)

Miltinus maculipennisMiltinus stenogaster

Rhopaliinae

Megascelinae

Mydinae

Diochlistinae

Pseudorhopalia mirandai

Miltinus viduatus

Leptomydinae +Syllegomydinae

Parectyphus namibiensis

Namadytes vansoni

Syllegomydas new species

Namibimydas psamminosDikow in preparation

....... sharing specimen records with global community

◊ Global Biodiversity Information Facility

◊ NMNH IPT instance (collections.mnh.si.edu/ipt/)

› specimen occurrence data for Namadytes

› www.gbif.org/dataset/5e6acf4c-e913-45fd-8466-5c0b92c322dd

Namadytes vansoni Namibimydas psamminosCephalocera sp. © S. Marshall

› to learn more visit asiloidflies.si.edu ‹

› presentation on slideshare.net slidesha.re/1ou2aXm ‹