''Eurychoromyia mallea'', the broad-headed fly, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
flies
Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...
in the subfamily Eurychoromyiinae.
In 1903,
C. A. W. Schnuse, collecting at
Sarampiuni in the foothills of the
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
n
Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
, took 4 specimens, all female, of a fly with a strange broad, flat head. These were described as a new species ''Eurychoromyia mallea''
(''ευρυς'' — broad; ''χορος'' — field; ''μυια'' — fly; ''malleus'' — hammer) by the Austrian entomologist
Friedrich Georg Hendel
Friedrich Georg Hendel (14 December 1874 in Vienna – 26 June 1936 in Baden bei Wien) was an Austrian high school director and entomologist mainly interested in Diptera. He described very many new species and made important contributions to the ...
. No specimens have been seen or collected since. Two of the specimens now reside in the
Naturhistorisches Museum
The Natural History Museum Vienna () is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria.
The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria and an important center of excellence for all matt ...
in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. The other two specimens are in the
Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde in
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
. Hendel rated the species as "an isolated group of acalyptrate muscids". His judgement has been sustained, and they are now recognised as belonging to a distinct family Eurychoromyiidae. No other specimens have ever been identified as belonging to this family. Classification has proved difficult, the absence of any male specimens adding to the difficulties. Following
Hennig (1958) they are here tentatively included in the superfamily
Lauxanioidea
The Lauxanioidea are a superfamily of flies that includes the two large families, the Lauxaniidae and Chamaemyiidae, and the small family Celyphidae. Generally, they are small to medium, densely populated, coloured flies. The Chamaemyiidae live a ...
. In 2010 Gaimari & Silva placed then as a subfamily within
Lauxaniidae
The Lauxaniidae are a family of Acalyptratae, acalyptrate fly, flies. They generally are small flies (length 7 mm or less) with large compound eyes that often are brightly coloured in life, sometimes with characteristic horizontal stripes, s ...
and added further genera, 5 of them new to science.
''E. mallea'' is a shiny, peach-brown insect, in length, with a head wide. The immature stages and male specimens have not been seen.
References
External links
Broad-headed flies - USDA
Lauxaniidae
Schizophora genera
Taxa named by Friedrich Georg Hendel
{{Lauxanioidea-stub