Richardia telescopica is a species of flies from the genus Richardia.[1][2] The species was originally described by Gerstaecker in 1860[1] and it occurs in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.[3]
| Richardia telescopica | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Richardiidae |
| Genus: | Richardia |
| Species: | R. telescopica
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| Binomial name | |
| Richardia telescopica Gerstaecker, 1860
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Description edit
R. telescopica presents an extreme form of sexual dimorphism. Males of Richardia telescopica display characteristic "eyestalks", a form of hypercephaly—an exaggerated lateral extension of the eyes away from the head—whereas females show limited hypercephaly.[4][5] Hypercephaly evolved in several insect orders, including Hymenoptera, Heteroptera, and Diptera and has arisen at least 21 times among flies. Other species in genus Richardia with hypercephaly as a dimorphic trait include Richardia stylops and Richardia chocoensis.[4][6]
Eyestalks of R. telescopica extend obliquely from the base of the head, unlike in congeners like Richardia chocoensis (with horizontal eyestalks). Interocular distance in males of Richardia telescopica doesn't exceed the body length whereas in other species of eyestalk flies (such as Plagiocephalus latifrons from Ecuador) it can extend to more than twice the length of the body.[6]
References edit
- ^ a b Gerstaecker, A. (1860). "Beschreibung einiger ausgezeichneten neuen Dipteren aus der Familie Muscariae". Entomologische Zeitung (in German): 163–202. Wikidata Q110713544.
- ^ "Richardia telescopica". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
- ^ "Richardia telescopica Gerstaecker, 1860". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
- ^ a b Hurley, Imogen Anne (2002). The developmental genetics of exaggerated eyespan in stalk-eyed flies (Doctoral thesis). UCL (University College London).
- ^ Grimaldi, David A.; Fenster, Gene (1989). "Evolution of extreme sexual dimorphisms : structural and behavioral convergence among broad-headed male Drosophilidae (Diptera)". American Museum Novitates (2939). hdl:2246/5094.
- ^ a b Constantino, Luis (2021-06-25). "Una nueva especie de mosca de ojos pedunculados del género Richardia Robineau-Desvoidy y un nuevo reporte de Plagiocephalus latifrons Wiedemann para la costa pacífica de Colombia (Diptera: Tephritoidea: Richardiidae y Ulidiidae)". Insecta Mundi. 0872: 1–8.
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