Morphometrical characters of the hypopygium in the Dolichopodidae (Diptera) and their use in the systematics of the family

Abstract

Morphology of the hypopygium was investigated in 496 species from 128 genera of the family Dolichopodidae. Based on twenty morphological and morphometrical characteristics, a parsimonic dendrogram of the Dolichopodidae subfamilies was constructed. Variance analysis of the morphometrical data allowed revealing diagnostic characteristics for the subfamilies and genera of Dolichopodidae. Such characteristics as the relative lengths of the epandrium, surstylus, cercus, and apical and basoventral epandrial processes can be used for taxonomic diagnostics of the subfamilies and genera.