Melanderia Explained

Melanderia is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.^[1] It is distributed along the West Coast of the United States, and members of the genus live in the intertidal zone.^[2] The adults have modified labellae that resemble mandibles.^[3]

Species

The genus is divided into two subgenera, Melanderia and Wirthia:^[4]

• Subgenus Melanderia Aldrich, 1922:
  • Melanderia crepuscula Arnaud, 1958^[4] – California (Pacific Grove)
  • Melanderia mandibulata Aldrich, 1922^[5] – Washington, Oregon, California
• Subgenus Wirthia Arnaud, 1958:^[4]
  • Melanderia californica Harmston, 1972^[6] – California (San Diego)
  • Melanderia curvipes (Van Duzee, 1918)^[7] – California (San Diego)

Notes and References

1. Book: Yang. D.. Zhu. Y.. Wang. M.. Zhang. L.. World Catalog of Dolichopodidae (Insecta: Diptera).. 2006. China Agricultural University Press. Beijing. 9787811171020. 1–704.
2. Pollet. Marc A. A.. Brooks. Scott Edward. Cumming. Jeffrey Malcolm. Catalog of the Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of America north of Mexico. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 2004. 283. 1–114. American Museum of Natural History. 10.1206/0003-0090(2004)283<0001:cotddo>2.0.co;2. 2246/451.
3. Web site: Genus Melanderia. 3 December 2024. BugGuide.
4. Arnaud. P. H. Jr.. A synopsis of the genus Melanderia Aldrich (Diptera, Dolichopodidae).. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 1958. 60. 179–186. 10 July 2016.
5. Aldrich. J.M.. A New Genus of Two-winged Fly with Mandible-like Labella. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 1922. 24. 145–148. 10 July 2016.
6. Harmston. F.C.. New Dolichopodidae From California And Oregon (Diptera). Entomological News. 1972. 83. 153–158. 10 July 2016.
7. Van Duzee. Millard C.. New North American species of Dolichopodidae (Dip.). Entomological News. 1917. 28. 123–128. 10 July 2016.