Toxomerus vertebratus ( Rondani, 1863 )

Barahona-Segovia, Rodrigo M., Riera, Pamela, Pañinao-Monsálvez, Laura, Guzmán, Vicente Valdés & Henríquez-Piskulich, Patricia, 2021, Updating the knowledge of the flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Chile: Illustrated catalog, extinction risk and biological notes, Zootaxa 4959 (1), pp. 1-178 : 156-158

Toxomerus vertebratus ( Rondani, 1863)

Figs 218–219

Syrphus vertebratus Rondani, 1863: 10

Syrphus interruptus Philippi, 1865: 747

Syrphus octoguttatus Jaennicke, 1867: 398

Mesogramma philippi Shannon, 1927: 24

Toxomerus philippi Shannon & Aubertin, 1933: 138 *

Mesograpta philippi Fluke, 1956: 227 *

Type locality and data. “ Chile ” (T, ♂, ♀, MZUN) .

Material examined. Coquimbo: 3♂, 1♀, El Naranjo, Tilama , III.1968, Leg. J. Molina ( MEUC) ; Valparaíso: 1♂, Los Molles , 11.VIII.1966, Leg. M. E. Irwin ( MEUC) ; 12♂, 45♀, Valle Piquenes, Rio Blanco , 24.XI.1958, Leg. L.E. Peña ( CNC) ; 1♂, Tranque Las Palmas, Villa Alemana , 9.IV.1965, Leg. L. Marnef ( MNHNCL) ; 1♀, Limache , 11.X.1966, Leg. C. Vivar ( MNHNCL) ; 1♂, Bosque relicto Quintero , 9.IV.1966, Leg. C. Vivar ( MNHNCL) ; 1♂, Playa Ancha , 4.IX.1965, Leg. D. Lanfranco ( MNHNCL) ; 1♂, Quebrada verde, 19.X.1963, Leg. N. Hichins ( MNHNCL) ; 1♂, 7♀, Hijuelas, 11.X.1960, Leg. N. Hichins ( MEUC) ; 1♂, Parque Peñuelas, 23.IV.1965, Leg. N. Hichins ( MNHNCL) ; 1♀, ConCon , 6.V.1964, Leg. N. Hichins ( MNHNCL) ; 1♀, Valle Alegre , 26.VIII.1966, Leg. C. Vivar ( MNHNCL) ; 1♂, Quillota , 19.XI.1965, Leg. NN ( MNHNCL) ; Metropolitana: 2♂, Caleu, TilTil , 7.XI.1998, Leg. M. Cerda ( MNHNCL) ; 1♂, Rungue , 22.XI.1982, Leg. M. Elgueta ( MNHNCL) ; 11♂, 16♀, Rinconada de Maipú, 10.V.1966, Leg. N. Hichins ( MEUC) ; 1♂, Cerro Renca , 19.X.1952, Leg . Orellana ( MNHNCL); 1♂ , Santiago, 10.V.1979, Leg. NN ( SAG) ; 1♀, La Castrina, 30.X.1969, Leg. L. Alfaro ( MNHNCL) ; 1♀, Ñuñoa 5.XI.1982, Leg. M. Cerda ( MNHNCL) ; 2♂, Barrancas , 10.X.1970, Leg. L. Álvarez ( MEUC) ; Maule: 4♂, Río Teno, Curicó , 8–26.I.1968, Leg. L.E. Peña ( MEUC) ; Ñuble : 2♂, 13♀, Liucura, 1959, Leg. L.E. Peña ( CNC) ; 8♂, 3♀, Nogeche, 17.XII.1953 ( CNC) ; Biobío: 3♀, Desembocadura Rio Biobío, 22.XI.1970, Leg. J.W. Boyes ( CNC) ; 1♂, 13♀, Caramavida, Arauco, 11.I.1954, Leg. L.E. Peña ( CNC) ; La Araucanía: 2♂, 1♀, El Manzano, 30km W to Angol , 8–9.XII.1972, Leg. L.E. Peña ( MEUC) ; 1♀, Angol , 15.VIII.1951, Leg. S. Huenchunao ( MNHNCL) ; 3♀, Cordillera Las Raíces, Lonquimay , 25–28.XII.1967, Leg. L.E. Peña ( MEUC) ; 1♂, 15♀, Cerro Adencul, 20–231. XII.1976, Leg. L.E. Peña ( CNC) ; 1♂, Lican ray, 17.XI.1986, Leg. M. Cerda ( MNHNCL) ; Los Ríos: 1♂, Liquiñe, Valdivia , 19.I.1982, Leg. T. Cerda ( MNHNCL) ; 1♂, Pemehue , 9.I. 1946, 700m, Leg. Kuschel ( MNHNCL) ; 3♂, Punta Curiñanco , 11.II.2008, Leg. NN ( UACH) ; 1♂, 14♀, Paillaco, 19.XI.1970, Leg. J.W. Boyes ( CNC) ; 2♂, 2♀, Maullín, Puerto Toledo , 17.XII.1972, Leg. L.E. Peña ( MEUC) ; Los Lagos: 1♂, Anticura, Puyehue , 5.II.1978, Leg. G. Arriagada ( MNHNCL) ; 1♂, 5♀, Pucatrihue, III.1969, Leg. Salgado ( MEUC) ; 1♀, Lago Chapo , 28.II.1983, Leg. G. Arriagada ( MNHNCL) ; Magallanes: 1♂, Punta Arenas , 22.VII.1968, Leg. V. Pérez ( MNHNCL) .

References. Rondani, 1863: 10 (desc.); Williston, 1886: 312 (cat.); Shannon & Aubertin, 1933: 138, fig. 26b (abdomen female) (desc.); Etcheverry, 1963: 110 (cat.); Rojas, 1966: 175 (cat. of predators of aphids); Etcheverry, 1970: 95 (cat.); Thompson et al., 1976: 40 (cat.); Zúñiga et al., 1986: 480 (predators of aphids); González & Coscarón, 2005: 347 (distr.); Smith-Ramírez et al., 2005: 412 (pollinator study); Thompson & Thompson, 2007: 325 (desc. & cat.); López et al., 2012: 6 (key); Smith-Ramírez et al., 2014: 6 (ecological study, supplementary material).

World distribution. Chile.

Chilean distribution. From Coquimbo to Magallanes regions ( Fig. 220 ).

Altitudinal range. From coastal to precordillera ecosystems (0–1000 m.a.s.l.).

Biology and notes. Toxomerus vertebratus is widely distributed and associated with several native herbaceous and tree species (see Smith-Ramírez et al., 2005, 2016). In central and southern Chile, it has shown a melanic form, probably a strategy to raise its temperature in the temperate forest and crops ( Fig. 64 ). This flower fly species has been observed visiting flowers of Anemone decapetala Ard. (Joaquín Sepúlveda, CSP record); B. rapa (Vinicio Aguilera, CSP record); Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. (Fernanda Gatalina, CSP record); Myoporum sp. (Gabriela Germain, CSP record); Oxalis sp. (Asiel Olivares, CSP record); R. raphanistrum (Famelica Hedonista, CSP records); Stachis grandidentata Lindl. (César Martínez, CSP record); T. officinale (Fernando Tellez and Janet Aguilera, CSP record) and Tussilago sp. (Ani Mari, CSP record). Toxomerus vertebratus was treated as an ‘unplaced’ species by Thompson et al. (1976) due to the unknown location of the Rondani type collection. The syntypes placed in the Naples collection were probably destroyed during World War II. Thompson & Thompson (2006) searched the Philippi material in 1997 without finding any specimens that could be considered type material of Syrphidae , and give a complete explanation for this category in T. vertebratus .

Conservation status. LC; EOO = 668,567 km 2, AOO = 136 km 2, 36 subpopulations and 43 localities.

Figures

FIGURE 220. Distribution map of Toxomerus species in Chile: Toxomerus calceolatus (Macquart, 1842) (green circles); Toxomerus floralis (Fabricius, 1798) (light blue circles); Toxomerus politus (violet triangle); Toxomerus productus (Curran, 1930) (yellow circles); Toxomerus schlingeri Thompson & Thompson, 2006 (blue circles); Toxomerus vertebratus (Rondani, 1863) (red triangle).

FIGURES 216–219. Toxomerus schlingeri Thompson & Thompson, 2007: (216) female visiting Salicornia sp., Humedal El Culebrón, Coquimbo (Photo by Francisco Carreño), and (217) male visiting a flower of Cristaria sp., Llanos de Challe National Park, Atacama (Photo by Gabriela Germain). Toxomerus vertebratus (Rondani, 1863): (218) female visiting a flower of Oxalis sp., Quilpué, Valparaíso (photo by Asiel Olivares) and (219) male visiting flowers of Myosotis sylvatica (L.), La Misión, Los Lagos (photo by Ricardo Huenuanca).

FIGURES 62–64. (62) Palpada rufiventris (Macquart, 1846), dorsal view. (63) Palpada nigripes (Wiedemann, 1830), dorsal view. (64) Palpada vinetorum (Fabricius, 1799), dorsal view. Scale bars = 1 mm. Photos by Patricia Henríquez.