Sciomyzidae Fallén, 1820

Rudolf Rozkošný

Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, CZ-61137 Brno, Czech Republic; rozk@sci.muni.cz

The European Sciomyzidae are small to medium-sized (2.0-14.0 mm) acalyptrate flies in the superfamily Sciomyzoidea. They are usually yellowish to brown, rarely black or even metallic blue. Antenna often elongate and porrect, arista bare, haired or plumose, costa without any breaks, and all tibiae provided with preapical bristles. The larval food preference is known for about 60 Central European species. Sciomyzid larvae feed as aquatic predators or terrestrial parasitoids (and/or predators) of pulmonate snails and pea mussels (Horsáková 2003, Rozkošný 1998), and a few attack slugs or consume snail eggs. Most adult Sciomyzidae occur near their breeding sites and are thus not rare along waterways, in marshes, peat bogs and sheltered mesic forests; only a few species penetrate into xerothermic habitats (e.g. Pherbellia limbata and Coremacera spp.).

The current concept of the Sciomyzidae includes only the subfamilies Salticellinae and Sciomyzinae. The European fauna comprises 142 species in 24 genera (Rozkošný & Knutson 2005). The present checklist includes 83 species, with 78 from the Czech Republic (69 from Bohemia and 75 from Moravia) and 79 from Slovakia. Since the last published checklist (Rozkošný 1997), one species additional for the Czech Republic has been recorded (6 for Bohemia and 3 for Moravia) (Barták & Rozkošný 1999, Rozkošný 1999, Rozkošný et al. 2001), and 2 additional species have been found in Slovakia (Roller 1989, 1993, 1996, 1998). Pherbellia obtusa (Fallén, 1820) was a misidentification and is omitted. The species richness is relatively well-known in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The general characteristics of the family were given by Rozkošný (1998), and a monograph of the species with aquatic and semi-aquatic larvae was published by Rozkošný (2002). The Central European species may be identified using keys by Rozkošný (1987, 1991), completed by the recent descriptions of the two new species: Pherbellia dentata Merz & Rozkošný, 1995 from Switzerland (Merz & Rozkošný 1995) and Sciomyza pulchra Roller, 1996 from Slovakia (Roller 1996).

For financial support, the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic and the Masaryk University (grant No. MSM 0021622416) are acknowledged.

References

[1] Barták M. & Rozkošný R. 1999: Faunistic records: Sciomyzidae. In Jedlička L. (ed.): Dipterologica bohemoslovaca, Vol. 9. Slovak Entomological Society, Bratislava, p. 200.

[2] Horsáková J. 2003: Biology and immature stages of the clam-killing fly, Renocera pallida (Diptera: Sciomyzidae). European Journal of Entomology 100: 143-151.

[3] Merz B. & Rozkošný R. 1995: A new Pherbellia (Diptera, Sciomyzidae) from Central Europe. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft 68: 435-440.

[4] Roller L. 1989: Prispevok k poznaniu čeľade rohačkovitých (Diptera, Sciomyzidae) na Slovensku. Správy Slovenskej entomologickej spoločnosti 1: 12-18.

[5] Roller L. 1993: Contribution to the occurrence of snail-killing flies (Sciomyzidae, Diptera) in the State Nature Reserve Šúr. Správy Slovenskej entomologickej spoločnosti 5: 25-31.

[6] Roller L. 1996: A new species of Sciomyza Fallén from Central Europe (Diptera: Sciomyzidae). Deutsche entomologische Zeitschrift 46: 245-250.

[7] Roller L. 1998: On the distribution of some rare snail-killing flies (Diptera, Sciomyzidae) in Slovakia. Entomofauna carpathica 10: 80-84.

[8] Rozkošný R. 1987: A review of the Palaearctic Sciomyzidae (Diptera). Folia Facultatis Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Masarykianae Brunensis, Biologia 86: 1-100.

[9] Rozkošný R. 1991: A key to the Palaearctic species of Pherbellia Robineau-Desvoidy, with description of three new species (Diptera, Sciomyzidae). Acta entomologica bohemoslovaca 88: 391-406.

[10] Rozkošný R. 1997: Sciomyzidae. In Chvála M. (ed.): Check list of Diptera (Insecta) of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Karolinum – Charles University Press, Prague, pp. 73-74.

[11] Rozkošný R. 1998: Sciomyzidae. In Papp L. & Darvas B. (eds): Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera (with special reference to flies of economic importance). Vol. 3. Higher Brachycera. Science Herald, Budapest, pp. 358-376.

[12] Rozkošný R. 1999: Phaeomyiidae, Sciomyzidae. In Rozkošný R. & Vaňhara J. (eds): Diptera of the Pálava Biosphere Reserve of UNESCO, II. Folia Facultatis Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Masarykianae Brunensis, Biologia 100: 281-286.

[13] Rozkošný R., 2002: Insecta: Diptera: Sciomyzidae. In Schwoerbel J. & Zwick P. (eds): Süβwasserfauna von Mitteleuropa. Vol. 21/18. Spektrum, Heidelberg-Berlin, pp. 17-122.

[14] Rozkošný R., Barták M. & Roháček J. 2001: Faunistic records: Sciomyzidae. In Chvála M. (ed.): Dipterologica bohemoslovaca, Vol. 10. Acta Universitatis Carolinae, Biologica 45: 192.

[15] Rozkošný R. & Knutson L. 2005: Fauna Europaea: Sciomyzidae. In Pape T. (ed.): Fauna Europaea: Diptera, Brachycera, Fauna Europaea version 1.2. http//www.faunaeur.org.