''Hercostomus'' is a genus 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 family

Dolichopodidae Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, are a large, cosmopolitan family of true flies with more than 8,000 described species in about 250 genera. The genus '' Dolichopus'' is the most speciose, with some 600 species. Dolichopodidae generally a ...

. It is a large genus, containing more than 483 species worldwide. Multiple studies have shown that ''Hercostomus'' is a

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

assemblage of species.

Species groups

The genus currently includes the following species groups, at least 25 of which are known from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

: * ''Hercostomus abnormis'' group – China * ''Hercostomus absimilis'' group – China * ''Hercostomus albidipes'' group – China * ''Hercostomus apiculatus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus baishanzuensis'' group – China * ''Hercostomus biancistrus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus crassivena'' group – China * ''Hercostomus curvus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus cyaneculus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus digitatus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus digitiformis'' group – China * ''Hercostomus fatuus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus flavimaculatus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus flaviventris'' group – China * ''Hercostomus fluvius'' group – China * ''Hercostomus hamatus'' group – China(?) * ''Hercostomus incisus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus intactus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus longicercus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus longus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus nanlingensis'' group – China * ''Hercostomus plagiatus'' group – Palearctic * ''Hercostomus prolongatus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus quadriseta'' group – China * ''Hercostomus shennongjiensis'' group – China(?) * ''Hercostomus subnovus'' group – China * ''Hercostomus takagii'' group – China * ''Hercostomus ulrichi'' group – China The

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

species of ''Hercostomus'' are traditionally separated into five numbered groups, based on the coloration of the femora, postocular setae and antennae: * Group I: Femora yellow; lower postocular setae yellow or white; antennae partly yellow * Group II: Femora yellow; lower postocular setae yellow or white; antennae black * Group III: Femora yellow; lower postocular setae black * Group IV: Femora black; lower postocular setae yellow or white * Group V: Femora black; lower postocular setae black In 1999,

Igor Grichanov Igor Yakovlevich Grichanov (; born 10 September 1958) is a Russian entomologist and ecologist. As a taxonomist, he specialised on Diptera notably Dolichopodidae. He joined the staff of the All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection in 1981. In 1 ...

divided the

Afrotropical The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

species of ''Hercostomus'' into three numbered groups. Two of these have since been separated into their own genera: * Group I: now ''

Afrohercostomus ''Afrohercostomus'' is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. Many of the species were formerly from "''Hercostomus'' Group I" (or the ''"Hercostomus" straeleni'' group), one of three groups of Afrotropical ''Hercostomus'' species created ...

'' * Group II: considered part of ''Hercostomus'' sensu stricto * Group III: now ''

Neohercostomus ''Neohercostomus'' is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. Many of the species were formerly from "''Hercostomus'' Group III", one of three groups of Afrotropical ''Hercostomus'' species created by Igor Grichanov in 1999. Species The g ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5736333 Dolichopodidae genera Dolichopodinae Taxa named by Hermann Loew

Species groups

See also

References