''Eurychoromyia mallea'', the broad-headed fly, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
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 subfamily Eurychoromyiinae.
In 1903,
C. A. W. Schnuse, collecting at
Sarampiuni in the foothills of the
Bolivia
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, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
n
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
, took 4 specimens, all female, of a fly with a strange broad, flat head. These were described as a new species ''Eurychoromyia mallea''
(''ευρυς'' — broad; ''χορος'' — field; ''μυια'' — fly; ''malleus'' — hammer) by the Austrian entomologist
Friedrich Georg Hendel Friedrich Georg Hendel (14 December 1874- 26 June 1936) was an Austrian high school director and entomologist mainly interested in Diptera. He described very many new species and made important contributions to the higher taxonomy of the Diptera.
H ...
. No specimens have been seen or collected since. Two of the specimens now reside in the
Naturhistorisches Museum
The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide.
The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...
in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. The other two specimens are in the
Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
. Hendel rated the species as "an isolated group of acalyptrate muscids". His judgement has been sustained, and they are now recognised as belonging to a distinct family Eurychoromyiidae. No other specimens have ever been identified as belonging to this family. Classification has proved difficult, the absence of any male specimens adding to the difficulties. Following
Hennig (1958) they are here tentatively included in the superfamily
Lauxanioidea. In 2010 Gaimari & Silva placed then as a subfamily within
Lauxaniidae
The Lauxaniidae are a family of acalyptrate flies. They generally are small flies (length 7 mm or less) with large compound eyes that often are brightly coloured in life, sometimes with characteristic horizontal stripes, such as in '' Cestr ...
and added further genera, 5 of them new to science.
''E. mallea'' is a shiny, peach-brown insect, in length, with a head wide. The immature stages and male specimens have not been seen.
References
External links
Broad-headed flies - USDA
Lauxaniidae
Schizophora genera
Taxa named by Friedrich Georg Hendel
{{Lauxanioidea-stub