Systematics of the Sarcophaginae of the Oriental region based on the comparative morphology of the male genitalia (Diptera, Sarcophagidae)

Abstract

The sarcophagine flesh flies have been classified into a lot of genera by the combination of the external and trivial genital characters on the basis of the classification by Rohdendorf (1937). As his system was not based on the phylogeny, there have been many problems especially about the delineation of the genera. The authors examined in detail 86 out of 129 species of the Sarcophaginae of the Oriental region, and propose systematics weighted by the homology of the male phallic structure after Roback's method (1954). The Sarcophaginae of the Oriental region is divided into three tribes, namely Raviniini, Tephromyiini and Sarcophagini, and consists of four genera, namely Ravinia (1 species included), Blaesoxipha (7 spp.), Harpagophalla (6 spp.), Sarcophaga (112 spp.) and unplaced (3 spp.). These genera are grouped by the presence and the shape of the median process and the styli according to the result of the evolution of the ventral sclerotization.