https://www.socictopen.socict.org/items/show/25158
title: Diversity, distribution and floral specificity of tangle-veined flies (Diptera: Nemestrinidae) in north west Patagonia, Argentina Diversidad, distribución y especificidad floral de nemestrínidos (Diptera) en el noroeste de la Patagonia, Argentina
subject: Diptera, Nemestrinidae, Patagonia, Trichophthalma, polinización, pollination Patagonia
description: Tangle-veined flies (Nemestrinidae) constitute a primitive and rather widespread family among Diptera. The genus Trichophthalma occurs in Australia and South America and is the only one in the family with a typically Gondwanian, disjoint distribution. The ecology and distribution of most southern South American species of this genus remains virtually unknown. We studied the diversity, distribution and flower specificity of flower-visiting species of the genus Trichophthalma in the temperate forests of southern South America in ten sites along an east-west rainfall gradient (37-40°S) on the eastern slope of the Andes. We recorded nine species of Trichophthalma, which showed an overlapped distribution along the gradient and different degrees of floral specificity. Three species are reported for Argentina for the first time and three are first recorded as flower visitors to the local flora. Our results show that while in southern Africa tangle-veined flies are engaged in highly specialized pollination interactions with long-tubed species, the Trichophthalma spp. of Patagonia share their flowers with a diverse and rather unspecialized visitor fauna among which several species of flies, bees and birds are presentLos nemestrínidos constituyen una familia de Dípteros primitiva y de amplia distribución. El género Trichophthalma se encuentra en Australia y Sudamérica y es el único en la familia con una distribución disjunta típicamente gondwánica. La ecología y distribución de la mayoría de las especies sudamericanas permanecen virtualmente desconocidas. Estudiamos la diversidad, distribución y especificidad floral de las especies del género Trichophthalma de los bosques templados del sur de Sudamérica en diez sitios ubicados a lo largo de un gradiente de precipitación este-oeste (37-40°S) sobre la vertiente occidental de los Andes. Registramos nueve especies de Trichophthalma, las cuales mostraron una distribución superpuesta a lo largo del gradiente y diferentes grados de …
creator: MARIANO DEVOTO, DIEGO MEDAN
source: Revista Chilena de Historia Natural
publisher: BMC
date: 2006
relation: http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-078X2006000100003
coverage: Botany, Zoology