Vergleichend-morphologische Untersuchungen der männlichen Kopulationsorgane bei Empididen (Diptera).

Abstract

A morphological description is given of the chitinuous parts of the male genitalia of the Dipterous family Empididae. It was found that Gonopodes belong to the groundplan of the family Empididae. Probably these are homologous to the so-called "basistyli" of the male genitalia of the families Rhagionidae and Asilidae. Within the family Empididae they could be found only in the subfamilies Empidinae and Hemerodrominae. From the morphology of the hypopygium may be concluded that the subfamilies Hybotinae, Ocydromiinae, and Tachydromiinae are members of one monophyletic group. There are no reasons to make this assumption also for the complex of the other subfamilies. Clear relationships are to be seen between the subfamilies Hemerodromiinae, Clino-ceratinae, and Brachystomatinae whereas the morphology of the hypopygium leaves doubts about the homogenity of the subfamily Empidinae. The hypopygium of the family Dolichopodidae apparently originated by fusion of the hypandrium and the epandrium. No species could be found in which the fusion has not yet been taken place. From the morphology of the hypopygium relationships between the Dolichopodidae and the subfamilies Hemerodromiinae and Clinoceratinae family Empididae eventually may be deduced. According to the morphology of its hypopygium the genus Hilaromorpha belongs to the family Bombyliidae, not to the family Empididae.