Heteropsilopus is a genus of
flies in the family
Dolichopodidae.[1] The genus comprises large-sized
sciapodines mostly with a strongly sinuate m-cu and simple digitiform
cercus. The strongly sinuate m-cu is considered to be a distinctive group
autapomorphy.
Distribution
Heteropsilopus is divided into three species groups: the triligatus group of southern
India and
Sri Lanka, and the cingulipes and brevicornis groups of southern
Australia and
Tasmania. Both Indian and Australian species are similar. Development of similar characters on some species, such as the stub-vein on m-cu, further unites the two disjunct groups. The separation of Heteropsilopus into Australian and Indian groups is more a matter of geographical convenience than sharp morphological difference.[2]
The disjunction of Heteropsilopus in Australia and India suggests a widespread eastern
Gondwanan distribution in place during the
Lower Cretaceous.
In India the genus is restricted to mountains above 900 m in the elevated physiographic region of the '
Western Ghats' or 'Southern Blocks', and is unknown from the lowlands.[3]
^Evenhius, N. L. (17 April 2016).
"Family Dolichopodidae". In Evenhius, N. L. (ed.). Catalog of the Diptera of the Australasian and Oceanian Regions (online version). Retrieved 10 April 2018.