Mydaea asiatica Pont, 1967

Sorokina, Vera S. & Pont, Adrian C., 2011, Fanniidae and Muscidae (Insecta, Diptera) associated with burrows of the Altai Mountains Marmot (Marmota baibacina baibacina Kastschenko, 1899) in Siberia, with the description of new species, Zootaxa 3118, pp. 31-44 : 42

Mydaea asiatica Pont, 1967

Material examined. 2 males, RUSSIA, Respublika Altai, Kosh-Agachskiy rayon, Zerluykol’-Nur lake, 49º34'N 88º13'Е, 2300 m, 23.vi.2005, A. Barkalov; 1 female, Respublika Altai, Kosh-Agachskiy rayon, Ukok plateau, 8 km NE Maitobe Mt., 2450 m, 49°34'N 87°43'E, 9,10. vii.2006, V. Sorokina; 2 males, Respublika Altai, Kosh-Agachskiy rayon, verkhov’ya r. Naryn-Gol [upper River Naryn-Gol], 2600 m, 49º49'N 89º32'E, 18.vii.2009, A. Barkalov.

Comments. This species was known only from the East Pamirs ( Tajikistan) ( Sychevskaya 1970: 827). Two adults were recorded by V. Sychevskaya from the subalpine zone, up to 4200 m, on faeces and on a window. During fieldwork in the Altai Mountains of Siberia this species was collected by Anatoliy Barkalov next to an Altai Marmot burrow. This species is also included in the list of Muscidae associated with Marmot burrows because the species that it most closely resembles morphologically, the European species Mydaea rufinervis (Pokorny) , is well known as a “Marmot Fly” ( Pont & Ackland 1995). These two species share a number of synapomorphies such as enlarged gena, small eyes, etc. In the Alps, M. rufinervis occurs commonly at the entrance to burrows, but also along the sides of nearby paths and in the grassy vegetation.