Megaselia subnitida (Lundbeck, 1920)

Haeggqvist, Sibylle, Ulefors, Sven Olof & Ronquist, Fredrik, 2015, A new species group in Megaselia, the lucifrons group, with description of a new species (Diptera, Phoridae), ZooKeys 512, pp. 89-108 : 102

Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Phoridae

Megaselia subnitida (Lundbeck, 1920) reinstated

Aphiochaeta subnitida Lundbeck, 1920

Megaselia subnitida Schmitz, 1927

Megaselia lucifrons Disney, 1988

Material examined.

Holotype: male, slide mounted, Denmark, Holte, Suserup Skov at Sorø, 6. VIII. 1918 (leg. Th. Mortensen) (ZMUC).

Swedish material.

Suppl. material 1.

Differential diagnosis.

Males of Megaselia subnitida are distinguished from males of the other two species in the group by the uniformly colored hind femur and the broader hypandrial left lobe (Fig. 6b). The frons is also less glabrous than in Megaselia lucifrons and Megaselia albalucifrons . Males of Megaselia subnitida are generally larger in size than both Megaselia lucifrons and Megaselia albalucifrons (Table 1).

Distribution.

Megaselia subnitida is widely distributed in Sweden, and is usually found together with Megaselia lucifrons (Fig. 7). Schmitz (1928) listed Megaselia subnitida from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany and Poland. In the more recent literature, after Disney synonymized the species with Megaselia lucifrons (Disney, 1988), separate records for Megaselia subnitida are not reported.

Biology.

Megaselia subnitida appears in different habitats, often in or in proximity to a forest, from May to September in the SMTP material (Suppl. material 1).

Remarks.

In Disney’s key (1989), Megaselia subnitida runs to couplet 104, together with Megaselia lucifrons .