Remarkable fly (Diptera) diversity in a patch of Costa Rican cloud forest: Why inventory is a vital science.

Study of all flies (Diptera) collected for one year from a four-hectare (150 x 266 meter) patch of cloud forest at 1,600 meters above sea level at Zurquí de Moravia, San José Province, Costa Rica (hereafter referred to as Zurquí), revealed an astounding 4,332 species. This amounts to more than half the number of named species of flies for all of Central America. Specimens were collected with two Malaise traps running continuously and with a wide array of supplementary collecting methods for three days of each month. All morphospecies from all 73 families recorded were fully curated by technicians before submission to an international team of 59 taxonomic experts for identification.        Overall, a Malaise trap on the forest edge captured 1,988 species or 51% of all collected dipteran taxa (other than of Phoridae, subsampled only from this and one other Malaise trap). A Malaise trap in the forest sampled 906 species. Of other sampling methods, the combination of four other Malaise traps and an intercept trap, aerial/hand collecting, 10 emergence traps, and four CDC light traps added the greatest number of species to our inventory. This complement of sampling methods was an effective combination for retrieving substantial numbers of species of Diptera. Comparison of select sampling methods (considering 3,487 species of non-phorid Diptera) provided further details regarding how many species were sampled by various methods.        Comparison of species numbers from each of two permanent Malaise traps from Zurquí with those of single Malaise traps at each of Tapantí and Las Alturas, 40 and 180 km distant from Zurquí respectively, suggested significant species turnover. Comparison of the greater number of species collected in all traps from Zurquí did not markedly change the degree of similarity between the three sites, although the actual number of species shared did increase.        Comparisons of the total number of named and unnamed species of Diptera from four hectares at Zurquí is equivalent to 51% of all flies named from Central America, greater than all the named fly fauna of Colombia, equivalent to 14% of named Neotropical species and equal to about 2.7% of all named Diptera worldwide. Clearly the number of species of Diptera in tropical regions has been severely underestimated and the actual number may surpass the number of species of Coleoptera.        Various published extrapolations from limited data to estimate total numbers of species of larger taxonomic categories (e.g., Hexapoda, Arthropoda, Eukaryota, etc.) are highly questionable, and certainly will remain uncertain until we have more exhaustive surveys of all and diverse taxa (like Diptera) from multiple tropical sites.        Morphological characterization of species in inventories provides identifications placed in the context of taxonomy, phylogeny, form, and ecology. DNA barcoding species is a valuable tool to estimate species numbers but used alone fails to provide a broader context for the species identified.

A new species of Aulacigaster from Zurquí de Moravia, a Costa Rican cloud forest (Diptera: Aulacigastridae)

A new species of Aulacigaster Macquart, 1835 A. zurqui sp. nov., is described from Costa Rica. The new species, which is classified in the plesiomorphica species group following a cladistics analysis, can be separated from all congeners by having a triangular 1st flagellomere and stout body that is uniformly dark-brown to black. An expanded diagnosis of the plesiomorphica group and a modified key to the Neotropical Aulacigaster are provided to accommodate the new species.(AU)

A new species of Aulacigaster from Zurquí de Moravia, a Costa Rican cloud forest (Diptera: Aulacigastridae)

A new species of Aulacigaster Macquart, 1835 A. zurqui sp. nov., is described from Costa Rica. The new species, which is classified in the plesiomorphica species group following a cladistics analysis, can be separated from all congeners by having a triangular 1st flagellomere and stout body that is uniformly dark-brown to black. An expanded diagnosis of the plesiomorphica group and a modified key to the Neotropical Aulacigaster are provided to accommodate the new species.

FAMILY SYRINGOGASTRIDAE.

This catalog features the three species of Syringogastridae that have been reported for Colombia. It is entirely based on literature data and contains no new records.

FAMILY PERISCELIDIDAE.

This catalog summarizes information on the three species of Periscelididae known to occur in Colombia. One species belongs to the subfamily Periscelidinae, and two to the Stenomicrinae. This catalog includes no new record for Colombia.

FAMILY AULACIGASTRIDAE.

This catalog features the only species of Aulacigastridae recorded for Colombia, Aulacigaster grimaldii Rung & Mathis, 2012.

New species of Cyamops (Diptera: Opomyzoidea: Periscelididae) from the old and new world tropics

Two new species of Cyamops Melander are described, one from the Afrotropical and one from the Neotropical Region. The newly described species are (type locality in parenthesis): Cyamops mathisi sp. nov. (Province Fianarantsoa, Madagascar) and Cyamops manauensis sp. nov. (state of Amazonas, Brazil). Both species can be separated from congeners based on characters of the male genitalia, particularly the shape of the surstyli. A new country, the Ivory Coast, is added to the distribution records of Cyamops nigeriensis, previously known only from Nigeria and Namibia. Updated keys to the Afrotropical and Neotropical species of the genus are also given.

New species of Cyamops (Diptera: Opomyzoidea: Periscelididae) from the old and new world tropics

Two new species of Cyamops Melander are described, one from the Afrotropical and one from the Neotropical Region. The newly described species are (type locality in parenthesis): Cyamops mathisi sp. nov. (Province Fianarantsoa, Madagascar) and Cyamops manauensis sp. nov. (state of Amazonas, Brazil). Both species can be separated from congeners based on characters of the male genitalia, particularly the shape of the surstyli. A new country, the Ivory Coast, is added to the distribution records of Cyamops nigeriensis, previously known only from Nigeria and Namibia. Updated keys to the Afrotropical and Neotropical species of the genus are also given.

New species of Cyamops (Diptera: Opomyzoidea: Periscelididae) from the old and new world tropics

Two new species of Cyamops Melander are described, one from the Afrotropical and one from the Neotropical Region. The newly described species are (type locality in parenthesis): Cyamops mathisi sp. nov. (Province Fianarantsoa, Madagascar) and Cyamops manauensis sp. nov. (state of Amazonas, Brazil). Both species can be separated from congeners based on characters of the male genitalia, particularly the shape of the surstyli. A new country, the Ivory Coast, is added to the distribution records of Cyamops nigeriensis, previously known only from Nigeria and Namibia. Updated keys to the Afrotropical and Neotropical species of the genus are also given.

Redescription of the genus Diopsosoma Malloch (Diptera, Periscelididae)

Redescrição do gênero Diopsosoma Malloch (Diptera, Periscelididae). Diopsosoma Malloch, 1932 e sua única espécie conhecida, D. primum Malloch, 1932 são redescritos. O gênero, embora facilmente reconhecível pela cabeça projetada lateralmente em pedúnculos oculares, é praticamente desconhecido. Por isso, apresenta-se sua redescrição em conjunto com breves redescrições de Periscelididae e da subfamília Periscelidinae. Chave para os gêneros de Periscelididae e fotomontagem do holótipo, talvez o único exemplar preservado da espécie, são fornecidas.