Phacaspis is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.[2] It is known from Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea and Micronesia. Flies in the genus are small (less than 2 mm long), with metallic green coloring. They are marine, and are commonly found on mudflats in front of mangroves.

Phacaspis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Dolichopodidae
Subfamily: Kowmunginae
Genus: Phacaspis
Meuffels & Grootaert, 1988[1]
Type species
Phacaspis petiolata
Meuffels & Grootaert, 1988[1]

The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek phaktós ("lens") and aspís ("round shield" or clypeus), referring to the swollen lens-shaped clypeus.[1]

The genus was originally regarded as incertae sedis within the family Dolichopodidae. In the World Catalog of Dolichopodidae (Insecta: Diptera) by Yang et al. (2006), the new subfamily Kowmunginae was proposed to include both Kowmungia and Phacaspis. This placement was later criticized by Sinclair et al. (2008), who suggested that the genus would have been better placed as incertae sedis until a later phylogenetic study determines its placement.[3]

Species

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The genus contains four species:[1][4][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Meuffels, H. J. G.; Grootaert, P. (1988). "Dolichopodidae (Diptera) from Papua New Guinea VIII. Phacaspis, a new genus incertae sedis from the mangrove" (PDF). Indo-Malayan Zoology. 5: 311–319. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  2. ^ Yang, D.; Zhu, Y.; Wang, M.; Zhang, L. (2006). World Catalog of Dolichopodidae (Insecta: Diptera). Beijing: China Agricultural University Press. pp. 1–704. ISBN 9787811171020.
  3. ^ Sinclair, Bradley J.; Brooks, Scott E.; Cumming, Jeffrey M. (2008). "A critical review of the world catalogs of Empidoidea (Insecta: Diptera) by Yang et al. (2006, 2007)". Zootaxa. 1846: 61–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1846.1.7. S2CID 15811116.
  4. ^ Grootaert, P.; Meuffels, H. J. G. (2001). "Notes on marine dolichopodid flies from Thailand (Insecta: Diptera: Dolichopodidae)" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 49 (2): 339–353. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  5. ^ Bickel, D.J. (2023). "Korotongo, a new genus from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, and a new species of Phacaspis Meuffels and Grootaert from Micronesia (Diptera: Dolichopodidae)" (PDF). Bishop Museum Occasional Papers (152, Fiji Arthropods (New Series) I): 5–12.

Further reading

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