Sphaeroceridae Macquart, 1835

Jindřich Roháček

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

Minute to small (0.7-5.5 mm), rather robust, usually dull coloured flies, easily recognizable from other acalyptrates by the shortened and dilated hind basitarsus. Body brown to black, more rarely with yellow or reddish markings, also wing rarely dark spotted or legs variegated. Head with setae reduced (Sphaerocerinae) to rich and long (Limosininae). Interfrontalia and interfrontal setae well developed; gena high, eye relatively small; antenna small, with bare to long-plumose arista. Legs strong; mid tibia usually with a number of dorsal setae. Wing venation complete in Sphaerocerinae and Copromyzinae, reduced in Limosininae. Costa with 2 breaks, subcosta reduced. Alula and anal lobe well developed. Wing (and its venation) often reduced or absent. Fifth male sternum usually modified. Gonostylus disparate; hypandrium reduced, open posteriorly; male cercus usually fused with epandrium. Male genitalia with large postgonites, reduced pregonites and complex distiphallus. Female postabdomen variable. The larvae are generally saprophagous, feeding as microsaprophages on microorganisms, and developing in various decaying substrates, including dung, rotting vegetation, fungi or carrion. The adults occur in all habitats that contain the breeding media of the larvae, preferably in damp places. A few polysprophagous species are synanthropic, living near human settlements; many coprophagous species are symbovilous and develop  in dung heaps near stables or in pastures.

Altogether 41 genera and 257 species are known to occur in Europe and the adjacent island areas, as covered by Fauna Europaea (Roháček 2004a); 169 are listed in the present checklist (159 in the Czech Republic, 129 in Bohemia, 154 in Moravia, and 147 in Slovakia). Since the last version of the checklist, the number of species in the Czech Republic has increased by 8 (3 in Bohemia, 7 in Moravia) and in Slovakia by 5. The family is slightly better known in the Czech Republic than in Slovakia. The Sphaeroceridae are characterised in detail by Roháček (1998), who also gave a key to all the Palaearctic genera, with references to specific papers for the identification of the species of particular genera. Identification tools for the Central European species are also referred to in Roháček and Barták (2001) and Roháček et al. (2001); these should be supplemented by a paper by Carles-Tolrá (2001). The nomenclature in the present checklist follows Roháček et al. (2001) and the Fauna Europaea (Roháček 2004a).

References

[1] Carles-Tolrá M. 2001: Two new Minilimosina Roháček species from Andorra (Diptera, Sphaeroceridae). Boletín de la Asociación Española de Entomología 25(3-4): 9-15.

[2] Gatt P. 2000: The lesser dung flies (Diptera, Sphaeroceridae) of the Maltese Islands. Studia dipterologica 7: 511-524.

[3] Roháček J. 1998: 3.43. Family Sphaeroceridae. In Papp L. & Darvas B. (eds): Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera. Vol. 3., Higher Brachycera. Science Herald, Budapest, pp. 463-496.

[4] Roháček J. 1999a: Crumomyia tyrphophila sp.n., a new species of Copromyzinae (Diptera, Sphaeroceridae) associated with peat-bogs in the Šumava Mts. (Czech Republic). Časopis Slezského zemského muzea, Opava (A) 48: 1-7.

[5] Roháček J. 1999b: Faunistic Notes: Sphaeroceridae. In Jedlička L. (ed.): Dipterologica bohemoslovaca, Vol. 9, Slovak Entomological Society, Bratislava, p. 208.

[6] Roháček J. 2001a: The type material of Sphaeroceridae described by J. Villeneuve with lectotype designations and nomenclatural and taxonomic notes (Diptera). Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France 105(5)(2000): 467-478.

[7] Roháček J. 2001b: Faunistic records: Sphaeroceridae. In Chvála M. (ed.): Dipterologica bohemoslovaca, Vol. 10. Acta Universitatis Carolinae – Biologica 45: 198.

[8] Roháček J. 2004a: Fauna Europaea: Sphaeroceridae. In Pape T. (ed.): Fauna Europaea: Diptera, Brachycera. Fauna Europaea version 1.1, http://www.faunaeur.org.

[9] Roháček J. 2004b: Sphaeroceridae. Faunistic records from the Czech and Slovak Republics: Diptera. In Kubík Š. & Barták M. (eds): Dipterologica bohemoslovaca 11. Folia Facultatis Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Masarykianae Brunensis, Biologia 109: 344-345.

[10] Roháček J. 2006: Faunistic records from the Czech and Slovak Republics. Sphaeroceridae. In Kinkorová J. (ed.): Dipterologica bohemoslovaca, Vol. 13. Acta Universitatis Carolinae - Biologica 50: 155-156.

[11] Roháček J. & Barták M. 1999: Sphaeroceridae (Diptera) of peat-bogs in the Šumava Mts. (SW Bohemia, Czech Republic). Časopis Slezského zemského Muzea, Opava (A) 48: 9-32.

[12] Roháček J. & Barták M. 2001: Sphaeroceridae. 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: 415-423.

[13] Roháček J. & Košel V. 2003: Crumomyia glacialis (Meigen, 1830) in Slovakia, with description of the female and notes on variation and biology (Diptera, Sphaeroceridae). Časopis Slezského zemského Muzea, Opava (A) 51(2002): 193-198.

[14] Roháček J., Kubík Š. & Barták M. 2005: Sphaeroceridae. In Barták M. & Kubík Š. (eds): Diptera of Podyjí National Park and its Environs. Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze, Praha, pp. 335-348.

[15] Roháček J., Marshall S.A., Norrbom A.L., Buck M., Quiros D.I. & Smith I. 2001: World catalog of Sphaeroceridae. Slezské zemské muzeum, Opava, 414 pp.

[16] Wheeler T.A. 1995: Systematics of the New World Rachispoda Lioy (Diptera, Sphaeroceridae): morphology, key to species-group, and revisions of the atra, fuscipennis, limosa and vespertina species groups. Journal of Natural History 29: 159-230.