THE MARIAE SPECIES GROUP (NEW GROUP)

DIAGNOSIS: Small to medium-sized flies ( A. incurva and A. mariae large); dark brown to blackbrown, with typical white markings; frons dark, sometimes with faint pollinosity, dull, never silvery; aristal branches with medium to long branches. Male genitalia: Inner paraphyses asymmetrical (except A. incurva), heavily spined, spines often interdigitating, fused to outer paraphysis.

NEARCTIC SPECIES: Amiota antitormentum, A. brayi, sp. nov., A. cruciatum, sp. nov., A. incurva, sp. nov., A. mariae Máca, A. texas, sp. nov., A. tormentum, sp. nov., A. wheeleri, sp. nov., and A. zaliskoi, sp. nov.

COMMENTS: This species group is distinctive for the asymmetrical spines of the male genitalia. Specimens with mirrored paraphyses, or chiral variants, were found in all of the species in this group. In most cases this did not represent variation at the species level, with the chirality of the asymmetrical spines being the only difference between specimens. In one case was it felt necessary to warrant recognition at the species level ( A. antitormentum and A. tormentum).