Ephydridae Zetterstedt, 1837

Hana Kubátová-Hiršová

State Phytosanitary Administration, Zemědělská 1a, CZ-613 00 Brno, Czech Republic; hana.hirsova@pest.srs.cz

The Ephydridae (shore flies) are small to medium-sized (body length 1.0-11.0 mm) cyclorrhaphous Brachycera, usually shining black or covered with greyish or brownish microtomentum, face variable in form, almost flat, arched, or distinctly prominent, in Ephydrini and Scatellini covered with setae, costa with two distinct breaks, discal and second basal cells united, anal cell and anal vein absent, wings entirely hyaline or with white or brown spots. Adults usually occur in close association with moist substrates, but a few species inhabit xerothermic grasslands. Most larvae are aquatic or semiaquatic, but some are adapted to very inhospitable habitats such as alkaline or highly saline waters, hot springs or crude oil pools, whilst others develop in decomposing matter or are leaf miners or parasitoids; adults and larvae of Ochthera are predators.

About 1800 shore fly species have been described worldwide (Mathis & Zatwarnicki 1995), with 337 species in Europe (Zatwarnicki 2004). Altogether 145 species are listed in the present checklist: 138 in the Czech Republic (119 in Bohemia, 108 in Moravia), and 81 in Slovakia. Compared with the previous version of the checklist (Zatwarnicki 1997), 26 species have been added to the fauna of the Czech Republic (28 and 39 to the fauna of Bohemia and Moravia, respectively) and 5 to the fauna of Slovakia. On the other hand, 13 species have been removed (12 and 17 from the lists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, respectively) because their presence in the previous version of checklist was based on doubtful records (especially records published or determined by Karnecká, or unrevised records from the late 19th and early 20th centuries – for details see (Kubátová-Hiršová 2006). So far as shore fly faunistics are concerned, the Czech Republic is one of the best investigated countries in Europe, although a few dozen further species are expected to be found. The shore fly fauna of Slovakia is much less known.

The only monograph dealing with the Central European species is the unpublished doctoral thesis compiled by Kubátová-Hiršová (2003). In addition, there are several keys for the identification of the shore fly species of Central Europe but they only deal with the fauna of individual countries. They need to be used with caution and in conjunction with other revisions because of recent taxonomic changes and additions to the fauna (Canzoneri & Meneghini 1983, Nartshuk 1970, Papp 1975). The most recent diagnostic key was by Mathis and Zatwarnicki (1998), dealing with the entire Palaearctic shore fly fauna, but it is restricted to genus level only.  The nomenclature used in the present checklist follows the Fauna Europaea (Zatwarnicki 2004).

References

[1] Canzoneri S. & Meneghini D. 1983: Fauna d´Italia. Ephydridae e Canaceidae. Volume 20. Edizioni Calderini, Bologna, 337 pp.

[2] Hiršová H. 1998: Records of Ephydridae in the Czech Republic. Studia dipterologica 5: 149-152.

[3] Hiršová H. 1999a: Ephydridae. In Rozkošný R. & Vaňhara J. (eds): Diptera of the Pálava Biosphere Reserve of UNESCO, II. Folia Facultatis Scientiarium Naturalium Universitatis Masarykianae Brunensis 100: 365-371.

[4] Hiršová H. 1999b: Faunistic records: Ephydridae. In Jedlička L. (ed.): Dipterologica bohemoslovaca Vol. 9, Slovak Entomological Society, Bratislava, pp. 209-212.

[5] Hollmann-Schirrmacher V. 1998: Phylogeny of the subfamily Ilytheinae (Diptera, Ephydridae) with special reference to the genus Philygria. Studia dipterologica, Suppl 5: 1-144. 

[6] Krivosheina M.G., 1998: Revision of the shore-fly genus Notiphila Fallén of Palaearctic (Diptera, Ephydridae). International Journal of Dipterological Research 9(1): 31-63.

[7] Krivosheina M.G. & Zatwarnicki T. 1997: Some notes on the Old World Allotrichoma (Diptera: Ephydridae) with description of three new species. Polish Journal of Entomology 66: 291-310.

[8] Kubátová-Hiršová H. 2003: Shore flies (Diptera: Ephydridae) of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Doctoral thesis. Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno. Unpublished.

[9] Kubátová-Hiršová H. 2006: Notes to the checklist of Ephydridae (Diptera) of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Entomofauna carpathica 18: 43-46.

[10] Kubátová-Hiršová H., Barták M. & Kubík Š. 2005: Ephydridae. In Barták M. & Kubík Š. (eds): Diptera of Podyjí National Park and its Environs. Czech Univ. Agric, Prague, pp. 357-361.

[11] Mathis W. N. & Zatwarnicki T. 1995: World Catalog of Shore Flies (Diptera: Ephydridae). Memoirs on Entomology, International, Associated Publishers, Gainesville, 423 pp.

[12] Mathis W. N. & Zatwarnicki T. 1998: Family Ephydridae. In Papp L. & Darvas B. (eds): Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera (with special reference to flies of economic importance). Volume 3. Higher Diptera. Science Herald, Budapest, pp. 537-570.

[13] Nartshuk E.P. 1970: 94. Sem. Ephydridae-Beregovušky. In Stackelberg A.A & Nartshuk E.P. (eds): Opredelitel nasekomych evropejskoj chasti SSSR. 5, Part 2. Akademia Nauk SSSR, Leningrad, pp. 363-388.

[14] Papp L. 1975: Vízilegyek - Ephydridae. Fauna Hungariae. Vol. 15, Diptera II, Part 6. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 128 pp.

[15] Rozkošný R. & Vaňhara J. 1992: Diptera (Brachycera) of the agricultural landscape in southern Moravia. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Academiae Scientiarum Bohemoslovacae Brno 26(4): 1-62.

[16] Zatwarnicki T. 1991: Changes in nomenclature and synonymies of some genera and species of Ephydridae (Diptera). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 39: 295-333.

[17] Zatwarnicki T. 1997: Ephydridae. In Chvála M. (ed.): Check List of Diptera (Insecta) of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Karolinum, Charles University Press, Prague, pp. 87-89.

[18] Zatwarnicki T. 2004: Fauna Europaea: Ephydridae. In Pape T. (ed.): Fauna Europea: Diptera, Brachycera. Fauna Europea version 1.1, http://www.faunaeur.org.

[19] Zatwarnicki T., Kubátová-Hiršová H. & Barták M. 2001: Ephydridae. In Barták M. & Vaňhara M. (eds): Diptera in an industrially affected region (North-Western Bohemia, Bilina and Duchcov environs). Folia Facultatis Scientiarium Naturalium Universitatis Masarykianae Brunensis, 105: 439-447.