Australasian/Oceanian Diptera Catalog -- Web Version

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The world fauna of Keroplatidae presently contains approximately 90 genera and 700 described species. The family is distributed worldwide from Greenland in the north to the Crozet Is in the south. The first fossil to be placed in this family with certainty belongs to the mid-Cretaceous fauna of France, and many species are known from the Cenozoic, especially from Baltic amber.

Thirty-one genera and 145 named valid species are cited in this catalog, a number that is probably much lower than the actual number of species in the Australasian fauna, especially since Australia is still poorly studied and New Guinea is practically unknown faunistically. Both areas undoubtedly harbor many undescribed species. Colless (1970b), in a preliminary study, estimated that only 30% of the Australian fauna of mycetophiloids had been described and that there were "a number of new or unrecorded genera."

It now appears that the keroplatid fauna is represented primarily by an old Transantarctic element, and the rest is pantropical or of Indo-Malayan affinity.

Most keroplatids are sylvan in habit. Larvae inhabit damp, dark places, sometimes caves, most often under Polyporaceae (bracket fungi) where they spin hygroscopic webs used for collecting spores or ensnaring small living invertebrate prey. Of the genera known from the Australasian Region, larvae of Arachnocampa, Macrocera, and Xenoplatyura are predaceous, and those of Cerotelion and Heteropterna are mycophagous. Predaceous species kill their prey with an acid fluid (mostly oxalic acid) secreted by labial glands and deposited in the droplets of their web; mycophagous larvae also have acid webs and occasionally feed on pupae of their own species or on dead insects.

Some keroplatids have luminescent larvae (and adults), the most celebrated being the New Zealand glow worm, Arachnocampa luminosa [see Pugsley (1983) for an exhaustive review of literature on this species and Pugsley (1984) on its ecology in the Waitomo Caves]. The Australian Mallochinus mastersi is also said to have luminous larvae.

The larva of Planarivora insignis, a Tasmanian species, is very peculiar in that it lives endoparasitically in land planarians (Hickman 1965). The biology of the larvae of most other genera is still unknown.

Adults are also mostly found in dark, damp places, sometimes in caves, where they may gather by the thousands (e.g., Neoplatyura monticola). Their flight is slow and their habits are mostly crepuscular or nocturnal. They can be swept in low vegetation, under overhanging rocks and trunks, and along banks of streams. Excellent collections may also be made with Malaise traps. Members of the genera Proceroplatus and Xenoplatyura have been caught at UV traps and occasional specimens are collected in yellow-tray traps. Gnats of the genus Heteropterna (and some other exotic genera as well as other families of nematocerous Diptera) have been found hanging in spider webs, where they seem safe from attack by the spiders. Some brightly colored members of the tribe Orfeliini (Nicholsonomyia, Tamborinea) are wasps mimics.

The classification adopted here follows that of Matile (1981a, 1986b). The most important changes from other papers on the Australasian fauna are the raising of Arachnocampa [as already suggested by Colless (1970b)] and Macrocera group of genera to subfamily rank, the raising of the subgenera recognized by Edwards (1929b) in "Platyura" Meigen (= Orfelia) and Keroplatus to generic rank, and the separation of Keroplatinae into 2 tribes, Keroplatini and Orfeliini.

Few papers have been published on the Australasian keroplatid fauna aside from the New Zealand glow worm. Matile (1986b) recently revised the Arachnocampinae, Macrocerinae and Keroplatini, reviewed what little was known of their biology, and gave keys to the world genera.
Refs.: Skuse (1888c, 1890d), Tonnoir (1929b, Australian gen.), Tonnoir & Edwards (1927, NZ spp.), Hardy (1960, Hawaiian spp.), Colless (1966, Micronesian spp.), Matile (1988c, New Caledonian spp.).

ARACHNOCAMPA Edwards, 1924e: 177. Type species: Bolitophila luminosa Skuse, 1891, orig. des.

ARACHNOCAMPA Edwards, 1924e: 177 (as gen.). Type species: Bolitophila luminosa Skuse, 1891, orig. des.
luminosa Skuse, 1891: 678 (Bolitophila). NZ (NZ).

CAMPARA Harrison, 1966: 880. Type species: Arachnocampa richardsae Harrison, 1966, orig. des.
flava Harrison, 1966: 880. Australia (Qld).
gippslandensis Baker, 2010: 35. Australia (Vic).
girraweenensis Baker, 2010: 32. Australia (Qld).
ohwayensis Baker, 2010: 36. Australia (Vic).
richardsae Harrison, 1966: 881. Australia (NSW).
tropica Baker, 2010: 29. Australia (Qld).

LUCIFERA Baker, 2010: 22. Type species: Arachnocampa tasmaniensis Ferguson, 1925, orig. des.
buffaloensis Baker, 2010: 28. Australia (Vic).
tasmaniensis Ferguson, 1925: 487. Australia (Tas).

CHIASMONEURA de Meijere, 1913d: 324. Type species: Chiasmoneura anthracina de Meijere, 1913, mon.

CHIASMONEURA de Meijere, 1913d: 324 (as gen.). Type species: Chiasmoneura anthracina de Meijere, 1913, mon.
LANEOCERA Coher, 1988: 82. Type species: Laneocera magnifica Coher, 1988, orig. des.
concinna Matile, 1990: 147. Australia (Qld).
cyclophora Edwards, 1929a: 96. Vanuatu.

PROCHIASMONEURA Matile, 1988b: 60. Type species: Chiasmoneura bipunctata Matile, 1973, orig. des.
bougainvillei Matile, 1990: 152. PNG (Bismarck Arch).
collessi Matile, 1990: 152. Australia (Qld).
fenestrata Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 774 (Macrocera). NZ (NZ).
melanesica Evenhuis, 2005: 4. Vanuatu, Fiji.
milligani Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 773 (Macrocera). NZ (NZ).

MACROCERA Meigen, 1803: 261. Type species: Macrocera lutea Meigen, 1804, des. Curtis, 1837a: 637.
annulata Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 777. NZ (NZ).
antennatis Marshall, 1896b: 271. NZ (NZ).
campbelli Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 775. NZ (NZ); NZ (Auckland Is).
decorosa Skuse, 1888c: 1159. Australia (NSW).
delicata Skuse, 1888c: 1158. Australia (NSW).
fusca Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 777. NZ (NZ).
glabrata Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 778. NZ (NZ).
gourlayi Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 777. NZ (NZ).
howletti Marshall, 1896b: 270. NZ (NZ).
     montana Marshall, 1896b: 270. NZ (NZ).
hudsoni Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 776. NZ (NZ).
kraussi Matile, 1988c: 97. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
mastersi Skuse, 1888c: 1161. Australia (NSW).
minima Matile, 1988c: 94. New Caledonia (New Caledonia); PNG (PNG).
ngaireae Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 776. NZ (NZ).
nigricauda Sasakawa, 2009: 186. PNG (PNG); Solomon Is.
nitens Edwards, 1928c: 28. American Samoa.
obsoleta Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 775. NZ (NZ).
papuana Sasakawa, 2009: 188. PNG (PNG).
pulchra Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 776. NZ (NZ).
renalifera Matile, 1988c: 97. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
rubiginosa Sasakawa, 2009: 189. PNG (PNG).
ruficollis Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 777. NZ (NZ).
samuelsoni Sasakawa, 2009: 190. PNG (PNG).
scoparia Marshall, 1896b: 272. NZ (NZ).
spinulosa Sasakawa, 2009: 191. PNG (PNG).
straatmani Matile, 1988c: 96. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
tonnoiri Matile, 1989: 130 (n.n. for inconspicua Tonnoir). NZ (NZ).
     inconspicua Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 778. NZ (NZ). [Preocc. Brunetti, 1912.]
unicincta Matile, 1988c: 94. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
unipunctata Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 774. NZ (NZ).
xouthothorax Sasakawa, 2009: 193. PNG (PNG).
ypsilon Sasakawa, 2009: 194. Solomon Is.

PARAMACROCERA Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 779. Type species: Paramacrocera brevicornis Edwards, 1927, orig. des.
brevicornis Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 779. NZ (NZ).

CEROTELION Rondani, 1856: 191. Type species: Platyura laticornis Meigen, 1818 [= Tipula lineata Fabricius, 1775], orig. des.
bimaculatum Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 781. NZ (NZ).
dendyi Marshall, 1896b: 275 (Keroplatus). NZ (NZ).
hudsoni Marshall, 1896b: 276 (Keroplatus). NZ (NZ).
leucoceras Marshall, 1896b: 276 (Keroplatus). NZ (NZ).
nigrum Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 781. NZ (NZ).
tapleyi Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 781. NZ (NZ).
vitripenne Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 780. NZ (NZ).

EUCEROPLATUS Edwards, 1929e: 174 (Keroplatus subg.). Type species: Keroplatus notaticoxa Senior-White, 1922, orig. des.
cantrelli Matile, 1990: 224. Australia (Qld).
gressitti Matile, 1990: 223. PNG (PNG).
officosus Matile, 1990: 224. Australia (Qld).

HETEROPTERNA Skuse, 1888c: 1166. Type species: Heteropterna macleayi Skuse, 1888, orig. des.
affinis Skuse, 1890d: 601. Australia (NSW).
annulipes Colless, 1966: 642 (Keroplatus). Belau.
chazeaui Matile, 1988c: 131. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
flavovittata Matile, 1990: 242. Fiji.
interrupta Matile, 1990: 244. PNG (PNG).
laterociliata Matile, 1990: 246. PNG (PNG).
macleayi Skuse, 1888c: 1167. Australia (NSW).
montana Matile, 1990: 245. PNG (PNG).
vicina Matile, 1990: 247. Vanuatu.

MALLOCHINUS Edwards, 1929e: 174 (Keroplatus subg.). Type species: Keroplatus mastersi Skuse, 1888, orig. des.
mangalorensis Edwards, 1929e: 174 (Keroplatus). Australia (Tas).
mastersi Skuse, 1888c: 1164 (Keroplatus). Australia (Tas).

NAUARCHIA Matile, 1990: 280. Type species: Nauarchia excavata Matile, 1990, orig. des.
excavata Matile, 1990: 282. PNG (Bismarck Arch).

PLATYROPTILON Westwood, 1850: 231 (Platyura subg.). Type species: Platyura miersii Westwood, 1850, mon.
collessi Matile, 1982: 287. Australia (Qld).
papua Matile, 1990: 322. PNG (PNG).

XENOKEROPLATUS Matile, 1990: 350. Type species: Xenokeroplatus filitarsis Matile, 1990, orig. des.
filitarsis Matile, 1990: 354. PNG (PNG).
riparius Matile, 1990: 354. Solomon Is.
steffani Matile, 1990: 354. PNG (PNG).

ANTRIADOPHILA Skuse, 1888c: 1183. Type species: Antriadophila nubipennis Skuse, 1888, des. Johannsen, 1909: 16.
electilis Skuse, 1888c: 1187. Australia (NSW).
nigra Skuse, 1888c: 1188. Australia (?NSW); Australia (Qld).
nubipennis Skuse, 1888c: 1184. Australia (?NSW).
petulans Skuse, 1888c: 1186. Australia (NSW).

DIMORPHELIA Matile, 1988c: 99. Type species: Dimorphelia stirpicola Matile, 1988, orig. des.
stirpicola Matile, 1988c: 101. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
tergata Matile, 1988c: 103. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).

ISONEUROMYIA Brunetti, 1912b: 66. Type species: Isoneuromyia annandalei Brunetti, 1912, mon.
harrisi Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 786 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
magna Walker, 1848: 89 (Platyura). "New Holland."
novaezelandiae Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 786 (Platyura; n. n. for magna Marshall). NZ (NZ).
     magna Marshall, 1896b: 278 (Platyura). NZ (NZ). [Preocc. Walker, 1848.]

LAURYPTA Edwards, 1929e: 171 (Platyura subg.). Type species: Platyura leptura Edwards, 1929, orig. des.
apicalis Colless, 1966: 650 (Orfelia). Belau.

LUTARPYA Edwards, 1929e: 172 (Platyura subg.). Type species: Platyura fulva Skuse, 1888, orig. des.
fulva Skuse, 1888c: 1176 (Platyura). Australia (NSW); Australia (Qld).

LUTARPYELLA Matile, 1988c: 103. Type species: Lutarpyella tibialis Matile, 1988, orig. des.
tibialis Matile, 1988c: 106. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).

NEOANTLEMON Tonnoir, 1929b: 595. Type species: Neoantlemon apicalis Tonnoir, 1929, orig. des.
apicale Tonnoir, 1929b: 595. Australia (Tas).

NEOPLATYURA Malloch, 1928h: 601. Type species: Platyura setiger Johannsen, 1910, orig. des.
annieae Matile, 1988c: 116. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
aperta Matile, 1988c: 111. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
boucheti Matile, 1988c: 107. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
brevitergata Matile, 1988c: 113. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
brookesi Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 786 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
bruni Matile, 1988c: 113. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
costalis Matile, 1988c: 114. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
digitata Colless, 1966: 646 (Orfelia). Bonin Is.
fidelis Edwards, 1929e: 167 (Platyura). Australia (Tas).
lamellata Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 785 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
lyraefera Matile, 1988c: 109. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
marshalli Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 785 (Platyura; n. n. for flava Marshall). NZ (NZ).
     flava Marshall, 1896b: 281 (Platyura). NZ (NZ). [Preocc. Macquart, 1826.]
monticola Skuse, 1888c: 1177 (Platyura). Australia (NSW).
palauensis Colless, 1966: 645 (Orfelia). Belau.
petiolata Colless, 1966: 645 (Orfelia). Guam.
proxima Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 785 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
richmondensis Skuse, 1890d: 604 (Platyura). Australia (NSW); Australia (Qld).
spinosa Colless, 1966: 644 (Platyura). Micronesia.
tasmanica Edwards, 1929e: 168 (Platyura). Australia (Tas).
tillieri Matile, 1988c: 111. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).

NICHOLSONOMYIA Tonnoir, 1929b: 596. Type species: Nicholsonomyia vespiformis Tonnoir, 1929, orig. des.
vespiformis Tonnoir, 1929b: 596. Australia (NSW).

PLANARIVORA Hickman, 1965: 1. Type species: Planarivora insignis Hickman, 1965, orig. des.
insignis Hickman, 1965: 3. Australia (Tas).

PROCEROPLATUS Edwards, 1925b: 523. Type species: Platyura pictipennis Williston, 1896, orig. des.
graphicus Skuse, 1888c: 1179 (Platyura). Australia (NSW).
moala Evenhuis, 2006a: 7. Fiji.
pectinatus Evenhuis, 2006a: 4. Fiji.
priapus Matile, 1988c: 117. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
scalprifera Matile, 1988c: 118. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).

PSEUDOPLATYURA Skuse, 1888c: 1180. Type species: Pseudoplatyura dux Skuse, 1888, mon.
crassitibialis Matile, 1988c: 119. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
dux Skuse, 1888c: 1182. Australia (NSW).
neocaledonica Matile, 1988c: 119. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
truncata Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 781. NZ (NZ).

PYRTAULA Edwards, 1929e: 166 (Platyura subg.). Type species: Platyura agricolae Marshall, 1896, orig. des.
agricolae Marshall, 1896b: 279 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
campbelli Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 789 (Platyura). NZ (NZ); NZ (Antipodes Is).
carbonaria Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 788 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
chiltoni Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 789 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
curtisi Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 790 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
fenestralis Skuse, 1888c: 1172 (Platyura). Australia (NSW); Australia (Tas, Vic).
flavipennis Edwards, 1929e: 166 (Platyura; n. n. for venusta Skuse). Australia (NSW); Australia (Qld).
     venusta Skuse, 1888c: 1174 (Platyura). Australia (NSW). [Preocc. Walker, 1856.]
maculipennis Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 788 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
okahunensis Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 790 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
philpotti Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 787 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
punctifusa Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 788 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
ruficauda Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 789 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
rufipectus Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 790 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
rutila Edwards in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 787 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
westralis Edwards, 1929e: 166 (Platyura). Australia (WA).

PYRTULINA Matile, 1977: 33. Type species: Pyrtulina pumila Matile, 1977, orig. des.
dubia Matile, 1988c: 121. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
tenuis Matile, 1988c: 121. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).

RHYNCHORFELIA Matile, 1988c: 122. Type species: Rhynchorfelia rufa Matile, 1988, orig. des.
rufa Matile, 1988c: 126. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).

RUTYLAPA Edwards, 1929e: 171 (Platyura subg.). Type species: Platyura ruficornis Zetterstedt, 1851, orig. des.
boudinoti Matile, 1988c: 127. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
discifera Matile, 1988c: 130. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
flavocinerca Matile, 1988c: 127. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
gressitti Colless, 1966: 649 (Orfelia). Micronesia.
lucidistyla Matile, 1988c: 128. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
lydiae Matile, 1988c: 128. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).

RYPATULA Edwards, 1929e: 167 (Platyura subg.). Type species: Platyura brevis Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927, orig. des.
brevis Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 784 (Platyura). NZ (NZ); NZ (Auckland Is, Campbell I).
gracilis Skuse, 1890d: 603 (Platyura). Australia (NSW).
subbrevis Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 784 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).

TAMBORINEA Matile, 1981b: 207. Type species: Tamborinea commoni Matile, 1981, orig. des.
commoni Matile, 1981b: 209. Australia (Qld).

TRIGEMMA Hardy, 1960: 201 (Orfelia subg.). Type species: Orfelia infurcata Hardy, 1960, orig. des.
infurcata Hardy, 1960: 201 (Orfelia). Hawaiian Is.
kilauea Evenhuis, 2006b: 63. Hawaiian Islands.

TYLPARUA Edwards, 1929e: 172 (Platyura subg.). Type species: Platyura hawaiiensis Grimshaw, 1901, orig. des.
cratericola Hardy, 1960: 203 (Orfelia). Hawaiian Is.
fuscocostata Grimshaw, 1901: 2 (Platyura). Hawaiian Is.
hawaiiensis Grimshaw, 1901: 3 (Platyura). Hawaiian Is.
insularis Grimshaw, 1901: 4 (Platyura). Hawaiian Is.

XENOPLATYURA Malloch, 1928h: 601. Type species: Platyura conformis Skuse, 1888, orig. des.
conformis Skuse, 1888c: 1175 (Platyura). Australia (NSW); Australia (Qld).
contingens Skuse, 1890d: 602 (Platyura). Australia (NSW).
doddi Edwards, 1929e: 169 (Platyura). Australia (Qld).
hopkinsi Edwards, 1928c: 29 (Platyura). Western Samoa.
pottsi Colless, 1966: 647 (Orfelia). Micronesia.
schineri Skuse, 1888c: 1174 (Platyura). Australia (NSW).

albovittata Tonnoir in Tonnoir & Edwards, 1927: 784 (Platyura). NZ (NZ).
micella Colless, 1966: 651 (Orfelia). Belau.