Chyromyidae Hendel, 1916

Jindřich Roháček

Department of Entomology, Silesian Museum, Tyršova 1, CZ-746 01 Opava, Czech Republic; rohacek@szmo.cz

Minute to small (0.5-5.0 mm), rather stout, usually yellow, more rarely grey to blackish flies. Head rounded, with depressed face, 2-6 fronto-orbital setae, postvertical (postocellar) setae small and convergent. Thorax with 1 humeral, 2 notopleural, 1 posthumeral, 1-6 dorsocentral, 2 (pairs) long scutellar setae (additional small scutellar setulae only in some genera). Wing unicolourous, hyaline. Costa extended to M, with a subcostal break; subcosta complete, ending close to R1; cell bm closed, cell cup short. Tibiae without dorsal preapical setae. Male genitalia variable; female postabdomen with 2 spermathecae. The larvae are saprophagous, developing in the nests of birds and in bat guano, and some species also in rotting wood debris. Most species are thermophilous; species of Aphaniosoma and Gymnochiromyia preferentially occur in saltmarshes and semi-arid habitats and are frequent on flowering vegetation. Chyromya species and also Gymnochiromyia inermis seem to be associated with open deciduous woodland.

A total of 59 species has been recorded in Europe (Ebejer 2004); 9 are listed in the present checklist (8 in the Czech Republic, 8 in Bohemia, 5 in Moravia, and 5 in Slovakia). Since the last version of the checklist, the number of species has not changed in either the Czech Republic (Bohemia and Moravia) or in Slovakia. The family is best known in Bohemia (Czech Republic); some additional species, particularly of the genus Aphaniosoma, can certainly be expected to be found in Moravia and Slovakia. The family was characterised by Wheeler (1998) who also gave a key to Palaearctic genera. There is no identification tool for all the European species; species of the European genera can be determined by means of Andersson (1971, 1976 – Chyromya), Ebejer (1998a – Gymnochiromyia) and Ebejer (1998b – Aphaniosoma). The species occurring in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been treated faunistically by Ebejer and Roháček (1995), who also summarized the earlier records. For references to papers recording Chyromyidae from the Czech Republic after 1995, see Ebejer et al. (2001). The nomenclature adopted here follows that in the Fauna Europaea (Ebejer 2004).

References

[1] Andersson H. 1971: The Swedish species of Chyromyidae (Diptera), with lectotype designations. Entomologisk Tidskrift 92: 95-99.

[2] Andersson H. 1976: Chyromya miladae n.sp. from Czechoslovakia (Diptera: Chyromyidae). Entomologica scandinavica 7: 187-189.

[3] Ebejer M.J. 1998a: A new species of Gymnochiromyia Hendel (Diptera: Chyromyidae) from the Mediterranean, with notes, lectotype designations and a key to the species from the West Palaearctic. Studia dipterologica 5: 19-29.

[4] Ebejer M.J. 1998b: A review of the Palaearctic species of Aphaniosoma Becker (Diptera: Chyromyidae), with descriptions of new species and a key for identification of adults. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, N. F. 45: 191-230.

[5] Ebejer M.J. 2004: Fauna Europaea: Chyromyidae. In Pape T. (ed.): Fauna Europaea: Diptera, Brachycera. Fauna Europaea version 1.1, http://www.faunaeur.org.

[6] Ebejer M.J. & Roháček J. 1995: New records of Chyromyidae (Diptera) from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Časopis Slezského zemského Muzea, Opava (A) 44: 167-170.

[7] Ebejer M.J., Roháček J. & Barták M. 2001: Chyromyidae. In Barták M. & Vaňhara J. (eds): Diptera in an industrially affected region (north-western Bohemia, Bílina and Duchcov environs), II. Folia Facultatis Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Masarykianae Brunensis, Biologia 105: 411-414.

[8] Wheeler T. A. 1998: 3.42. Family Chyromyidae. In Papp L. & Darvas B. (eds): Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera. Vol. 3., Higher Brachycera. Science Herald, Budapest, pp. 457-461.