Chetogaster violacea/viridis (complex)
Bristle Fly at Jerrabomberra, NSW
Identify this sighting
| Chetogaster violacea/viridis (complex) | jgl | 6 Apr 2019 | |
| Chetogaster violacea/viridis (complex) | jgl | 6 Apr 2019 | |
| Unverified | KimPullen | 9 Nov 2018 | |
| Tachinidae (family) | MichaelMulvaney | 10 Sep 2017 | |
| Tachinidae (family) | KimPullen | 5 Jul 2017 |
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5 comments
27 Mar 2017
I think you may have uploaded the wrong picture roachie, or accidentally chosen the Myrmecia (ant) genus.
7 Apr 2019
I've reassigned Chetogaster viridis to a two species complex of Chetogaster violacea and Chetogaster viridis after realising a peculiarity with these two species in the genus Chetogaster. See Crosskey, 1973, Rutiliini Revision, p. 116, couplet 2 (https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/148163#/summary)
He distinguishes the two species from the rest of the genus based on their orange wing bases and male genitalia. He distinguishes the two species from each other based primarily on their metallic colour: C. violacea is dark blue/purple, while C. viridis is green. This is indeed what they look like pinned in museum collections. However, after collecting and pinning some specimens of Chetogaster with orange wing bases, which were metallic green when I caught them (caught around Canberra and the south coast), I've observed all of these specimens turn dark blue/purple over the course of a year or so. After checking the locality data for C. viridis in the ANIC, it appears that all of the specimens (7 in the ANIC) were caught in either the Bunya Mountains (SE QLD), or around Brisbane.
He distinguishes the two species from the rest of the genus based on their orange wing bases and male genitalia. He distinguishes the two species from each other based primarily on their metallic colour: C. violacea is dark blue/purple, while C. viridis is green. This is indeed what they look like pinned in museum collections. However, after collecting and pinning some specimens of Chetogaster with orange wing bases, which were metallic green when I caught them (caught around Canberra and the south coast), I've observed all of these specimens turn dark blue/purple over the course of a year or so. After checking the locality data for C. viridis in the ANIC, it appears that all of the specimens (7 in the ANIC) were caught in either the Bunya Mountains (SE QLD), or around Brisbane.
7 Apr 2019
I have yet to see the C. viridis holotype in the AM, but its locality is near Taree NSW. On the other hand, the 86 C. violacea in the ANIC collection come from various localities between Brisbane and Gippsland (and thus appear to be far more common). Crosskey mentions that he couldn't see a difference between the male genitalia of the two species - I have yet to confirm this. There is also a specimen from the Bunya Mountains in ANIC with a bright green thorax and purple abdomen - a colour combination between the two. Until I have confirmed with DNA that these two species are in fact synonymous, I'm leaving it as a complex. I don't know why certain specimens would stay green after drying, though based on the collections I've seen, such specimens are quite rare. Chetogaster violacea Macquart, 1851 has priority over Chetogaster viridis Malloch, 1936, so if they do get synonymised, all C. viridis will become C. violacea. I've made this entry into a two species complex because they are distinctly different from all other Chetogaster spp. (all the other spp. have clear colourless wings and different male genitalia.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.212631-35.375023
- Altitude 797.0m
- Maps Mount Jerrabomberra Mount Jerrabomberra QP
- Places Jerrabomberra, NSW
Sighting information
- At least 1 Abundance
- 26 Mar 2017 02:03 PM Recorded on
- roachie Recorded by
Collections
- Insects Bristle Flies (Tachinidae) True flies (Diptera) roachie Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Chetogaster violacea/viridis (complex)
Species information
- Chetogaster violacea/viridis (complex) Scientific name
- Bristle Fly Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 841.8m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information