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Cryptodacus Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Recognition
Species of Cryptodacus may be distinguished from other Tephritidae by the following combination of characters: Scutum with medial white or pale yellow vitta or spot. Vein Cu₁ bordered with brown between BM-Cu and discal band and/or antenna elongate, extended beyond ventral facial margin. Length of vein M from BM-Cu to R-M/ length from BM-Cu to DM-Cu greater than 0.60. Subapical band and posterior orbital seta present. Aculeus tip sagittate and finely serrate.
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Classification and Evolutionary Relationships
Order: Diptera. Family: Tephritidae. Subfamily: Trypetinae. Tribe: Carpomyini. Genus: Cryptodacus. Author: Hendel.
Cryptodacus belongs to the tribe Carpomyini, but its exact relationships within this group are not fully understood. It may be most closely related to Haywardina, Rhagoletotrypeta, and Zonosemata. The phylogenetic relationships among the species of Cryptodacus were analyzed by Norrbom (1994). Click here for a fuller discussion of Cryptodacus phylogeny.

Diversity & Distribution
Cryptodacus is endemic to the American tropics, occurring from Mexico to southern Brazil. There are 8 currently recognized species.
Click here for species identification key.
Click here for list of included species and links to species pages.
Click here for character matrix for species.

Names Used for this Genus
Cryptodacus Hendel 1914a: 84, Type species C. obliquus Hendel, by original designation.
Cryptodacus Hendel 1914b: 12, Type species: C. obliquus Hendel, by original designation. Preoccupied by Hendel 1914a.
Lezca Foote 1978: 27, Type species: L. tau Foote, by original designation. Synonymy (Norrbom 1994).
Click here to link to fly names database for full nomenclatural data.

Biology
The biology of Cryptodacus species is very poorly known. A host plant is known only for C. silvai Lima, which was reared from fruits of "herva de passarinho (Loranthus sp.)" (Loranthaceae) (Lima 1947).

Economic Significance
Species of Cryptodacus are not considered economically important.

Comments
Norrbom (1994) revised and keyed the species of Cryptodacus and also proposed the synonymy of Lezca with Cryptodacus (see Cryptodacus phylogeny). The specimens "from Colombia" that Foote (1980; including Fig. 52) considered Cryptodacus species are actually from Mexico and belong to an undescribed genus near Pseudophorellia Lima. Cryptodacus scutellatus Hendel belongs in Zonosemata (Norrbom 1989) as Lima (1947) suggested, although his comments were long unnoticed.

References
Click here to access fruit fly literature database
Aczél, M. L. 1950. Catalogo de la familia 'Trypetidae' (Dipt. Acalypt.) de la region neotropical. Acta Zool. Lilloana (1949) 7: 177-328. [p. 192, catalog]
Foote, R. H. 1967. Family Tephritidae (Trypetidae, Trupaneidae). In N. Papavero, ed., A Catalogue of the Diptera of the Americas South of the United States. Departmento de Zoologia, Secretaria da Agricultura, São Paulo. Fasc. 57, 91 pp. [p. 21, catalog]
Foote, R. H. 1978. New genera and species of neotropical Tephritidae (Diptera). J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 68: 27-32.
Foote, R. H. 1980. Fruit fly genera south of the United States. United States Department of Agriculture, Technical Bulletin No. 1600, 79 pp. [p. 24, 34; review]
Hendel, F. 1914a. [p. 84, description in key]
Hendel, F. 1914b. Die Bohrfliegen Südamericas. Abhandl. Bericht. Königl. Zool. Anthrop. Ethnograph. Mus. Dresden (1912) 14: 1-84. [p. 5, in key, p. 12, description]
Lima, A. M. da Costa. 1947. Uma nova mosca de fruta do genero Cryptodacus. An. Acad. Bras. Cienc. 19: 153-157.
Norrbom, A. L. 1989. The status of Urophora acuticornis and U. sabroskyi (Diptera: Tephritidae). Entomol. News. 100: 59-66. [relationships, classification]
Norrbom, A. L. 1994. New species and phylogenetic analysis of Cryptodacus, Haywardina, and Rhagoletotrypeta (Diptera: Tephritidae). Insecta Mundi 8: 37-65. [revision, phylogenetic analysis]
Norrbom, A. L., L. E. Carroll, F. C. Thompson, I. M. White & A. Freidberg. 1999. Systematic database of names, pp. 65-251. In F. C. Thompson (ed.), Fruit Fly Expert Identification System and Systematic Information Database. Myia (1998) 9, vii + 524 pp. & Diptera Data Dissemination Disk (CD-ROM) (1998) 1. [p.   , catalog]

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