| Atlatlia Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Dolichopodidae |
| Subfamily: | Medeterinae |
| Genus: | Atlatlia Bickel, 1986 [1] |
| Type species | |
| Atlatlia grisea Bickel, 1986 | |
Atlatlia is a genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. [1] It was originally established for two species found in eucalypt forests in Australia, and was later expanded to include a third Australian species, three species from New Caledonia, and a number of extinct species found in Baltic and Bitterfeld amber from the Paleogene. The appearance of Atlatlia in Baltic/Bitterfeld amber suggests that the genus once had a much wider distribution. [2] In males of the Atlatlia grisea species group, the seventh segment of the abdomen is extremely elongated, forming a hypopygial peduncle. The name of the genus is derived from atlatl, the Nahuatl word for "spear-thrower", in reference to the male preabdomen which appears to act as an atlatl for the hypopygial peduncle. [1]
