Lauxaniid Flies are small True Flies, Diptera, that tend to have plain coloured bodies, patterned wings and large, often brightly coloured eyes. The larvae of these flies are saprotrophs (detritovores) that often play a role in soil formation, helping to break down fallen leaves and other material. Lauxaniids are commonest in the Asian and American tropics, being rarer in temperate regions, and uncommon in Africa.
In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 29 December 2017, Li Shi and Xuefeng Gao, of the College of Agronomy at the Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, and Wenliang Li of the College of Forestry at the Henan University of Science and Technology, describe a new species of Lauxaniid from northern China.
The new species is placed in the genus Homoneura and given the specific name yanqingensis, meaning 'from Yanqing' in reference to Yanqing County in the Beijing Municipal Area, where the species was first discovered. This species ranges from 3.8 to 4.3 mm in length and is yellow in colour with brown spots on the wings. The species was found in the Beijing Municipal Area and Shaanxi Province.
Homoneura yanqingensis, male specimen from Shaanxi Province. Shi et al. (2017).
See also...
Follow Sciency Thoughts on
Facebook.
