Halmopota Haliday, 1856

Mathis, Wayne N. & Sepúlveda, Luciane Marinoni and Tatiana A., 2025, Phylogeny and taxonomy of the shore-fly tribe Ephydrini with comments on related tribes in Ephydrinae (Diptera: Ephydridae), Zoologia (e 24044) 42, pp. 1-42 : 21-22

Halmopota Haliday, 1856

Figs 34–36

Halmopota Haliday in Walker 1856: 346 (masculine; type species: Ephydra salinaria Bouché, 1834 , monotypy). – Becker 1926: 96–98 [review of Palearctic species]. – Giordani Soika 1958: 207–216 [revision]. – Canzoneri and Meneghini 1974: 147–151 [revision]; 1983: 151–156 [review of Italian species]. – Papp 1975: 92–93 [review of Hungarian species]. – Cogan 1984: 171– 172 [Palearctic catalog]. – Krivosheina 1989: 18–23 [revision]. – Mathis and Zatwarnicki 1995: 248–249 [world catalog].

Diagnosis.Moderatelylargeshoreflies,bodylength4.0– 5.5 mm, generally appearing dull, densely microtomentose, grayish.

Head: Frons dull, gray, brown or velvety black, uniform, some species with silvery white spots; 2 ocellar setae; 3 lateroclinate fronto-orbital setae; lacking cruciate interfrontal setae; postvertical setulae weak; lateral and medial vertical setae present. Antenna black, pedicel sometimes brownish; arista glabrous, base broad, generally black to yellowish brown. Face projected anteriorly, arched, face and gena silvery white to dark gray; face with one strong seta and several setulae; gena with 3–5, dorsally curved setae; facial setae aligned with parafacial suture, setae lacking along ventral martin. Clypeus prominent, clearly projected ventrally beyond ventral oral margin; oral opening large, gaping.

Thorax: Mesonotum gray, brown, or velvety black, unicolorous or with stripes and spots. Five dorsocentral setae (2+3); two rows of acrostichal setae, prescutellar pair larger; 1 postpronotal seta; 1 presutural supra-alar seta; 2 supra-alar setae; lateral scutellar setae not arising from tubercles; shape of scutellum variable; katepisternum and anepisternum appearing pubescent, 1–4 katepisternal setae; 0–1 anepisternal seta. Wing mostly hyaline, with sharp separation of subcostal, proximity of middle cubital vein, disc shape at rear edge of wing; lacking a spur vein; halter faintly yellowish; costal vein ratio 0.21–0.23; M 1 vein ratio 0.72–0.74. Legs gray, apices of tibia and tarsi reddish brown; pulvilli present but rudimentary; tarsal claws relatively long and straight.

Abdomen: Gray to greenish, microtomentose, numerous short setulae. Male terminalia: Epandrium shield-like, ovate to ellipsoidal, with ventromedial fissure; cerci comparatively elongate, length about equal to paired ventral extensions of epandrium; gonite in lateral view nearly straight, apex variously shaped, apex arrow-like, pointed or excavated subapically; aedeagus in lateral view tubular, parallel sided to tapered, curved or almost L-shaped. Female terminalia: Female ventral receptacle with operculum tube-like, much smaller than extended process, trapezoidal; extended process broadly curved, widest medially, with neck that extends into operculum. egg guide sternites bearing two pairs of weak setae.

Third-instar larva: Prolegs along venter of abdominal segments.

Natural history: Adults and immature stages are associated with saline habitats, usually shorelines. Sometimes the salinity is very high.

Distribution. Thus far, species of Halmopota are found exclusively in the Palearctic Region and can be conveniently summarized by Turkey ( H. anatolicus Canzoneri and Meneghini , H. tomentosus Canzoneri and Meneghini ) and Tibet ( H. chinensis Krivosheina , H. hutchinsoni Cresson , H. kozlovi Becker , H. villosa Becker ) plus the following: H. mediterraneus Loew ( Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Spain, Syria, Tibet, Turkey), H. insignis (Becker) ( Russia, Ukraine), H. salinarius (Bouché) ( Germany, Poland, Russia), H. septentrionalis Canzoneri and Meneghini ( Bulgaria, Italy, Tadzhikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan), and H. stackelbergi Krivosheina ( Tadzhikistan).

Remarks. While having sympatric species distributions is not unusual in Ephydridae , this condition for at least some species of Halmopota may suggest the need to again revise the included species. To that end, we have provided more detailed distributional data for all described congeners (see above).

Although the generic name, Halmopota , ends with the letter a, it is a masculine noun, and the species’ epithets should agree in gender.

Figures

Figures 31–36. Ephydrella and Halmopota. Ephydrella novaezealandiae, (31) head anterior; (32) head lateral; (33) thorax dorsal.Halmopota salinarius, (34) head anterior; (35) head lateral; (36) thorax dorsal.