Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken, 1860

Podenas, Sigitas & Byun, Hye-Woo, 2014, New Limoniinae crane flies (Diptera: Limoniidae) of Korea, Journal of Species Research 3 (2), pp. 167-182 : 170-171

Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken

Marginomyia Meigen, 1818 (nomen nudum).

Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken, 1859 ; Lackschewitz and Pagast, 1942; Ishida, 1959; Savchenko and Krivolutskaya, 1976; Savchenko, 1982, 1983, 1989.

Type species - Dicranoptycha germana Osten Sacken, 1859 .

Comparatively large crane flies, with wing length ranging from 7.0 to 12.0 mm. Main body color gray or brownish. Antennal flagellum 14-segmented. Prescutum with distinct tubercular pits, which are somewhat removed from the frontal margin of the sclerite. Large pseudosutural fovea are placed somewhat closer to the frontal margin of prescutum, than in most other Limoniidae . Wing long, grayish or brownish, but without dark spots. Sc long, tip of Sc 1 reaches distinctly beyond branching point of Rs, Sc 2 close to Sc 1 tip. Arculus developed. Cross-vein r 2 close to R 1 tip. Radial sector (Rs) comparatively short, slightly arched at base, branching into two veins R 2 + 3 and R 4 + 5. Discal cell closed, elongate. @asal deflection of CuA 1 distinctly beyond branching point of M. The most distinctive feature of the genus is fold in cell cu, which is not known in other genera of Limoniidae . Second and third pairs of coxae are close to each other, because meron is strongly reduced. Male genitalia slightly elongate. Ninth tergite and ninth sternite forming complete genital ring. Ninth tergite with large shallow median incision. Gonocoxite with large interbase. Two pairs of terminal gonostyles. Inner gonostylus usually dark, strongly sclerotised and slightly arched. Outer gonostylus wide and fleshy. Edeagal complex usually strongly complicated and species-specific. Ovipositor with comparatively short, widened, round-tipped cercus. Some species with modified, widely spread cerci. Palaearctic species usually start flying from the middle of summer.

Larval body coloration light, cuticle transparent. @ody form terete, elongate and vermiform. Abdominal segments 2 to 8 each with ventral and dorsal creeping welts formed by spinulae. Larvae metapneusnistic. Spiracular disc with four sharply pointed subequal spiracular lobes. Spiracular field covered by two dorsal, two ventral and dark triangular median sclerites. Spiracles small, oval in shape and widely separated. Anal papillae inconspicuous. Head capsule hemicephalic, prognatous, oval-shaped with distinct frontal suture. Labrum tree-lobed, clypeus broad. Hypostoma with three teeth similar in size, deeply split behind. Hypopharynx with two sclerotised arms and rounded central part covered with spines. Larvae develop in soil under leaf litter or wood debris.

Pupa terete, gradually tapering from base of wing pads to slender cauda. Pronotal horns very small. Tips of wings reaching mid-length of third abdominal segment. Numerous spiracular openings situated laterally. End of female abdomen cone-likely narrowed with two sclerotised hooks curved dorsally. Cauda of male abdomen rounded with two additional pair of small projections ( Young, 1987).

Genus includes 85 species distributed worldwide except Australia ( Oosterbroek, 2014). The largest diversity is observed in Afrotropics with 31 species, Nearctic 23 species. Distinctly less species are known from Eastern Palearctic, 13, and Western Palearctic, 7. Only one species has transpalearctic distribution. There are six species with Oriental distribution, additionally one species is shared between Eastern Palearctic and Oriental Regions. Three species are known from Neotropics. Seven fossil species, belonging to that genus, were found so far, with oldest representative from the Lower Cretaceous ( Evenhuis, 2014).