A six minute presentation on the diversity of mydas flies in the Namib, Karoo, and Kalahari deserts in south-western Africa

1. Mydas flies from the deserts of south-western Africa
Namadytesvansoni NamibimydaspsamminosCephalocera sp. © S. Marshall
Torsten Dikow
@TDikow
Smithsonian
National Museum of Natural History

2. . deserts in south-western Africa
Namib, Kalahari, and Karoo
◊ Namib
› true desert
› arid conditions for past 55 – 80 my
› annual rainfall 5 – 85 mm (0.2 – 3.3 inch)
◊ Karoo
› Succulent and Nama Karoo
› annual rainfall 20 – 520 mm (0.8 – 20.5 inch)
◊ Kalahari
› savanna
› annual rainfall 235 – 500 mm (9.3 – 19.7 inch)
map from Lovegrove, B. 1993. ThelivingdesertsofsouthernAfrica. Fernwood Press.

3. Mydidae – mydas flies
.. mydas flies
◊ adult flies flower-feeders
› some adults do not feed at all
◊ size = 8 – 60 mm (0.35 – 2.36 inch)
◊ 473 species in 66 genera
◊ southern Africa with highest species number
Rhaphiomidasauratus© G. Ballmer Anomalomydasmackerrasi© J. Hort
Diochlistusauripennis© P. ChewMydasxanthopterus© S. Marshall

4. Namib gravel plains with Welwitschiamirabilis
Namib sand dunes (gravel plains in distance)
Succulent Karoo with Aloedichotoma
Kalahari red sand dunes with Acaciaerioloba
... mydas flies and deserts in south-western Africa

5. .... mydas-fly genera
◊ Namibimydas
› 4 species, reviewed Dikow 2012
› 23 specimens, 7 collections (NMNH)
◊ Namadytes
› 3 species, reviewed Dikow & Leon 2014
› 68 specimens,10 collections (NMNH)
◊ Nothomydas
› 4 species, reviewed Dikow 2012
› 5 specimens, 3 collections
◊ Parectyphus
› 1 species, reviewed Lyons & Dikow 2010
› 9 specimens, 5 collections
Lyons & Dikow 2010 doi: 10.3897/zookeys.73.840 – Dikow 2012 doi:10.5733/afin.053.0105 – Dikow & Leon 2014 doi: 10.3897/BDJ.2.e1071
5 mm
5 mm
5 mm
5 mm

6. ..... enigmatic mydas-fly species
◊ Syllegomydas new species
› 3 female specimens, 2 collections
◊ new genus and new species
› 9 specimens, 2 collections (NMNH)
5 mm 5 mm
head in ventral view head in ventral view

7. Evolutionary relationships of Mydidae
› morphological data
› 131 species, 231 characters
› tree length 1839 steps
› 346 trees
› strict consensus tree shown
...... phylogenetic diversity in deserts of south-western Africa
Ectyphus pinguis
Ectyphus armipes
Heteromydas bicolor
Ectyphus amboseli M
Opomydas townsendi
Parectyphus namibiensis
Afroleptomydas A sp Clanwilliam
Syllegomydas S elachys
Afroleptomydas A inhacae
Nomoneura caffra
Afroleptomydas C sp Stampriet
Cephalocera imitata M
Cephalocera sp
Arenomydas namaquensis M
Leptomydas turcicus
Syllegomydas N arnoldi M
Leptomydas corsicanus
Nemomydas lamia
Mitrodetus microglossa
Vespiodes phaios
Mitrodetus dentitarsis
Nemomydas melanopogon
Leptomydas rapti M
Leptomydas lusitanicus
Cephalocera sp Sors Sors
Mydaselpis sp nov Gamsberg M
Syllegomydas N heothinos
Syllegomydas S algiricus
Afroleptomydas A suffusipennis
Namadytes vansoni
Namibimydas psamminos
Cephalocera sp Papendorp
Afroleptomydas A opacicinctus
Diochlistinae Argentina F
Syllegomydas S proximus
Notosyllegomydas brincki
Neolaparopsis puncturatus
Mitrodetus nanoglossa M
Arenomydas callosus
Syllegomydas S palestinensis
Nomoneuroides natalensis
Afroleptomydas A rufithorax
Hessemydas parkeri M
Haplomydas crassipes
Mitrodetus dimidiatus
Afroleptomydas A sp Obib
Vespiodes leopolditertii
Afroleptomydas C mauricei
Eremomidas bek
Syllegomydas N astrictus
Hispanomydas hispanicus
Hessemydas daugeroni
Pseudonomoneura hirta
Namadytes cimbebasiensis
Syllegomydas sp nov Ruacana
Nomoneura paradoxa
Mydaselpis ngurumani
Syll gen nov sp nov minute proboscis F
Leptomydas sardous
Namibimydas stuckenbergi
Arenomydas partitus
Pseudonomoneura micheneri
Nothomydas picketti
Nemomydas venosus
Cephalocera longirostris
Eremohaplomydas desertorum
Eremomidas sp nov Tiega M
Syllegomydas S lineatus
Eremomidas arabicus
Afroleptomydas A consanguinensis
Afroleptomydas C sp Gobabeb
Arenomydas caerulescens
Pseudonomoneura bajaensis
Leptomydas notos
Syllegomydas S vittatus
Nemomydas pantherinus
Lachnocorynus sp nov Kotwa M
Nemomydas gruenbergi M
Afroleptomydas A omeri
Syllegomydas N dispar
Afroleptomydas A paganus
Halterorchis karooensis F
Nemomydas brachyrhynchus
Mydaselpis sp nov Daan
Afroleptomydas C sp Koeroegab
Hessemydas seyrigi
Anomalomydinae
Apiophora paulseni
Rhaphiomidinae
Midacritus wagenknechti
Miltinus minutus
Midacritus stuardoanus
Ectyphinae
Apiophora quadricinctata
Miltinus sp. (Northern Territory)
Miltinus maculipennis
Miltinus stenogaster
Rhopaliinae
Megascelinae
Mydinae
Diochlistinae
Pseudorhopalia mirandai
Miltinus viduatus
Leptomydinae +
Syllegomydinae
Parectyphusnamibiensis
Namadytesvansoni
Syllegomydas new species
NamibimydaspsamminosDikow in preparation

8. ....... sharing specimen records with global community
◊ Global Biodiversity Information Facility
◊ NMNH IPT instance (collections.mnh.si.edu/ipt/)
› specimen occurrence data for Namadytes
› www.gbif.org/dataset/5e6acf4c-e913-45fd-8466-5c0b92c322dd

9. Namadytesvansoni NamibimydaspsamminosCephalocera sp. © S. Marshall
› to learn more visit asiloidflies.si.edu ‹
› presentation on slideshare.net slidesha.re/1ou2aXm ‹