''Tapeigaster'' is a genus of medium to large sized

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

Heleomyzidae The Heleomyzidae is a small family of true flies in the insect order Diptera. Over 740 described species of Heleomyzidae occur in about 76 generaPape, Thomas, Vladimir Blagoderov, and Michail B. Mostovski. "Order Diptera Linnaeus, 1758." An ...

. Eleven species are currently described, all

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the temperate regions of southern and eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Description

Adults of this genus are medium to large sized flies of medium to robust build with rounded heads, bristles on the thorax, spines on the

femora The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with t ...

, and wings that lack any dark markings. The exact morphology of the reproductive system differs between species, with specific differences more noticeable in the male reproductive systems than in the female reproductive systems. This genus is associated with

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

, with the larvae of several species documented living inside the fruiting bodies of fungi and adults commonly found on or near mushrooms, including species from the genera ''

Agaricus ''Agaricus'' is a genus of mushrooms containing both edible and poisonous species, with over 400 members worldwide and possibly again as many disputed or newly-discovered species. The genus includes the common ("button") mushroom (''Agaricus bisp ...

'', ''

Amanita The genus ''Amanita'' contains about 600 species of agarics, including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide, as well as some well-regarded edible species. This genus is responsible for approximately 95% of the fatalities result ...

'', and ''

Boletus ''Boletus'' is a genus of mushroom-producing fungi, comprising over 100 species. The genus ''Boletus'' was originally broadly defined and described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, essentially containing all fungi with hymenial pores instead of gil ...

''.

Taxonomy and history

''Tapeigaster'' was first described by French entomologist

Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart (8 April 1778 – 25 November 1855) was a French entomologist specialising in the study of Diptera. He worked on world species as well as European and described many new species. Biography Early years Macquart was ...

in 1847, placing it in the family

Sciomyzidae The family Sciomyzidae belongs to the typical flies (Brachycera) of the order Diptera. They are commonly called marsh flies, and in some cases snail-killing flies due to the food of their larvae. Here, the Huttoninidae, Phaeomyiidae and Teta ...

with ''Tapeigaster annulipes'' as the type and sole species. Little was written of this genus until 1917, when 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 ...

described a new genus, ''Sciomyzoptera'', which would later be synonymised with ''Tapeigaster'' by

Mario Bezzi Mario Bezzi (1 August 1868, in Milan – 14 January 1927, in Turin) was an Italian professor of zoology at the University of Turin. He was also director of the Turin Museum of Natural History (Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali (Regional Museum of ...

in 1923. In the same publication, Bezzi also described several new species and proposed the inclusion of ''Tapeigaster'' in the family

Scatophagidae Scatophagidae, the scats are a small family of ray-finned fishes in the order Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the ...

. In 1955,

Sergey Paramonov Sergey Paramonov (russian: Серге́й Владимирович Парамонов; born 16 September 1945) is a Soviet fencer. He won a bronze medal in the team épée event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), offi ...

placed it in the family Neottiophilidae and described two new species. David McAlpine and Deborah Kent reviewed the genus in 1982, describing four new species, synonymising five species, and placing the genus in the newly created tribe Tapeigastrini within the family

. McAlpine later recharacterised Tapeigastrini as the subfamily Tapeigastrinae, which includes ''Tapeigaster'' alongside the genus ''Ollix''.

Species

This genus includes the following species: *''

Tapeigaster annulata ''Tapeigaster'' is a genus of medium to large sized flies in the family Heleomyzidae. Eleven species are currently described, all endemic to the temperate regions of southern and eastern Australia. Description Adults of this genus are medium to ...

'' (Hendel, 1917) (New South Wales, Queensland) *''

Tapeigaster annulipes ''Tapeigaster annulipes'' is a species of fly in the family Heleomyzidae. It is endemic to Australia, occurring in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria. It is common and widely distributed within this range and can ...

'' Macquart, 1847 (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria) *''

Tapeigaster argyrospila ''Tapeigaster argyrospila'' is a species of fly in the family Heleomyzidae. It is endemic to Australia, occurring in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria. Description Adult ''T. argyrospila'' are robust flies with bodies ...

'' Bezzi, 1923 (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria) *'' Tapeigaster brunneifrons'' Malloch, 1927 (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria) *''

Tapeigaster cinctipes ''Tapeigaster'' is a genus of medium to large sized Diptera, flies in the family Heleomyzidae. Eleven species are currently described, all endemic to the temperate regions of southern and eastern Australia. Description Adults of this genus are ...

'' (Walker, 1853) (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia) *'' Tapeigaster digitata'' McAlpine & Kent, 1982 (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria) *''

Tapeigaster luteipennis ''Tapeigaster'' is a genus of medium to large sized flies in the family Heleomyzidae. Eleven species are currently described, all endemic to the temperate regions of southern and eastern Australia. Description Adults of this genus are medium to ...

'' Bezzi, 1923 (New South Wales, Queensland) *''

Tapeigaster nigricornis ''Tapeigaster nigricornis'' is a species of fly in the family Heleomyzidae. It is endemic to Australia, occurring in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. It is the most commonly seen species of ...

'' (Macquart, 1851) (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia) *'' Tapeigaster paramonovi'' McAlpine & Kent, 1982 (New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia) *'' Tapeigaster pulverea'' McAlpine & Kent, 1982 (New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria) *'' Tapeigaster subglabra'' McAlpine & Kent, 1982 (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Victoria)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14601326 Heleomyzidae Insects of Australia Diptera of Australasia Brachycera genera Insects described in 1847 Taxa named by Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart