''Abatetia'' is a genus of

flies Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

in the family

Dolichopodidae Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, are a large, cosmopolitan family of true flies with more than 7,000 described species in about 230 genera. The genus ''Dolichopus'' is the most speciose, with some 600 species. Dolichopodidae generally are ...

. It contains a single species, ''Abatetia robusta'', and is found in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The genus was originally known as ''Nelsonia'', named by

Octave Parent Abbé Octave Parent (15 June 1882, in Trescault – 9 February 1942, in Ambleteuse) was a French entomologist who specialized in Diptera, mostly the family Dolichopodidae. He became director of the Biological Station, Ambleteuse. He published thre ...

in 1933. The genus was then transferred to '' Cymatopus'' by Parent in 1937. Separately, David Miller found the name ''Nelsonia'' to be preoccupied by '' Nelsonia'' (

Merriam Merriam can refer to: People * Alan P. Merriam (1923–1980), American ethnomusicologist * Charles Edward Merriam (1874–1953), American political scientist * Charles W. Merriam (1877–1961), American insurance businessman and politician * Clinto ...

, 1897), and renamed it to ''Abatetia'' in 1945. However, the genus remained a synonym of ''Cymatopus'' until 1984, when it was restored as a separate genus by Henk J. G. Meuffels and Patrick Grootaert. Due to ''Nelsonia'' being preoccupied, ''Abatetia'' became the name of the genus.

References

Dolichopodidae genera Hydrophorinae Diptera of New Zealand Monotypic Diptera genera Taxa named by David Miller (entomologist) Endemic insects of New Zealand {{Dolichopodidae-stub