Teratomyza Malloch, 1933

Bayless, Keith M., 2022, A New Species of Teratomyza, the First Fern Fly from New Guinea (Diptera, Teratomyzidae), Records of the Australian Museum (Rec. Aust. Mus.) 74 (1), pp. 13-18 : 14

Genus Teratomyza Malloch urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C382F197-DF97-490F-BB89-9C7DE410E290

Teratomyza Malloch, 1933: 113–114 . Type species (by original designation): T. neozelandica Malloch, 1933 .

Vitila D. K. McAlpine & de Keyzer, 1994: 321. Type species: Teratomyza (Vitila) undulata D. K. McAlpine & de Keyzer, 1994 (as subgenus of Teratomyza , synonymized D. K. McAlpine, 2012).

Poecilovitila Papp, 2011: 11. Type species P. elegans Papp, 2011 (as a subgenus of Teratomyza , synonymized D. K. McAlpine, 2012).

Remarks

Teratomyza is differentiated from all other Teratomyzidae by the reduced or absent subscutellum and the reduced or absent palpus. However, the morphological disparity between species of Teratomyza , and the broad geographic range of the genus compared to narrow areas of endemism of most species, are notably greater than in other fern fly genera. This led to difficulties for taxonomists who have disagreed as to the limits of the genus and use of subgenera. At present a broad monophyletic genus is supported by a combination of distinctive apomorphies (D. K. McAlpine & de Keyzer, 1994; D. K. McAlpine, 2012), despite diversity in colour pattern and wing vein contours. The most consistent classification follows D. K. McAlpine (2012) who provisionally clustered Teratomyza into seven numbered informal species-groups. An identification key was also provided to differentiate these groups, of which 3, 4, and 6 comprised only undescribed species known from scant material. Part of the type series of T. ismayi sp. nov., the sole constituent of group 6, are the same specimens examined by D. K. McAlpine (2012).