Melanostomini

Melanostomini
Melanostoma scalare , female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Superfamily:	Syrphoidea
Family:	Syrphidae
Subfamily:	Syrphinae
Tribe:	Melanostomini Williston, 1885 [1]
Type genus
Melanostoma Schiner, 1860
Genera [2]
Afroxanthandrus Argentinomyia Leucopodella Melanostoma Pelloloma Talahua Xanthandrus

The Melanostomini are a tribe of hoverflies. The tribe was first described as the subfamily Melanostominae by Williston in 1885. ^{[1] [2] [3]} The tribe has at times been considered to be synonymous with Bacchini. ^[2]

Description

Williston first described the group to include the genera Pyrophaena , Platycheirus (as Platychirus), and Melanostoma as follows:

Small, elongate, thinly pilose species, deep black or shining green, the abdomen usually slender, with interrupted bands of bright yellow, orange or greenish yellow color ( Syrphus simplex from the West Indies has a black face and entire shining metallic abdominal cross-band); face uniformly black, or at least never with light ground-color. Antennae short, face tuberculate, marginal cell of wing open, third longitudinal vein of wing only gently curved, anterior cross-vein near the base of discal cell; legs slender, hind femora never thickened. ^{[1] : 133}

The modern concept of the group has changed considerably from this initial description.

A 2020 molecular phylogenetic study found that Bacchini sensu lato should be divided into two groups: Melanostoma and related genera (i.e., Melanostomini), and Baccha and related genera (i.e., Bacchini). ^[2]

References

1. Williston, Samuel Wendell (1885). "On the classification of North American Diptera. (First paper)". Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society. 7: 129–139. hdl: 2027/hvd.32044107188534 . ISSN   1051-8932.
2. Mengual, Ximo (2020-02-27). "Phylogenetic relationships of the bacchine flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) based on molecular characters, with a description of a new species of Melanostoma (Schiner, 1860)". Contributions to Zoology . 89 (2): 210–244. doi: 10.1163/18759866-20191410 . ISSN   1383-4517.
3. Thompson, F. Christian; Skevington, Jeffrey H. (2014-08-06). "Afrotropical flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae). A new genus and species from Kenya, with a review of the melanostomine group of genera". Zootaxa . 3847 (1): 97–114. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3847.1.5 . ISSN   1175-5326. PMID   25112327.