Brachylinga

Irwin & Lyneborg, 1981

Species Guides

2

Brachylinga is a of stiletto flies ( Therevidae) established by Irwin & Lyneborg in 1981. The genus comprises 24 described distributed broadly across the Neotropical region, with ten species described as new to science in a 2006 revision. Brachylinga is distinguished from the related genera Lysilinga (North and Central America) and Elcaribe (Caribbean) by morphological characters, particularly of the male and female genitalia. Several species have been synonymized or transferred to other genera, and B. antennata is considered a .

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Brachylinga: /ˈbrækiˌlɪŋɡə/

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Identification

Identification relies on examination of genitalia ; male and female terminalia provide diagnostic characters distinguishing Brachylinga from the related Lysilinga and Elcaribe. A taxonomic key to is available in Webb (2006).

Distribution

Broadly distributed in the Neotropical region. occur across South America, Central America, and parts of the Caribbean, though some Caribbean species previously assigned to Brachylinga have been transferred to the Elcaribe.

Similar Taxa

  • LysilingaRelated in Therevinae, distinguished from Brachylinga by genital ; Lysilinga is restricted to North and Central America whereas Brachylinga occurs more broadly in the Neotropics.
  • ElcaribeNewly described (Webb 2006) to which five were transferred from Brachylinga; Elcaribe is restricted to the Caribbean and distinguished from Brachylinga by genital characters.

More Details

Taxonomic history

A major revision by Webb in 2006 described ten new , synonymized two species pairs (B. interrupta under B. chilensis; B. pilosa under B. pavida), and designated B. antennata as . Five species were transferred to the new Elcaribe.

Sources and further reading