Leptotarsus huttoni
| Leptotarsus huttoni | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Tipulidae |
| Genus: | Leptotarsus |
| Species: | L. huttoni
|
| Binomial name | |
| Leptotarsus huttoni (Edwards, 1923)
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Leptotarsus huttoni is a species of crane fly in the family Tipulidae.[2] First described as Macromastix huttoni by Frederick Wallace Edwards in 1923, the species is endemic to New Zealand, living near rotting wood on both the North Island and the South Island.
Taxonomy
The species was first described by Frederick Wallace Edwards in 1923 as Macromastix huttoni.[3] In 1968, Nikolas Vladimir Dobrotworsky revised Macromastix, making it a subgenus of Leptotarsus.[4] This led to the current accepted name of the species, Leptotarsus huttoni, or its alternative representation, Leptotarsus (Macromastix) huttoni.
Description
Edwards described the species as follows:
Head dull dark ochreous, scarcely any darker in middle, with some ochreous-grey dusting round eyes. Front about one-quarter as broad as head, tubercle moderate. Rostrum slightly longer than head, rather darker than vertex; nasus with long hairs at tip, which is not bifid. Palpi blackish. Antennae rather dark brown, alike in both sexes; shorter than thorax, first scapal joint slender. First flagellar joint slightly shorter than second, third, or fourth; fifth and sixth shorter; last five thinner and indistinctly separated. Thorax resembling that of M. lunata, but much less hairy, and area above blackish pleural spot is not conspicuously pale. Abdomen much as in M. lunata, but without conspicuous grey dusting on any part; the blackish dorsal line is narrower, especially on second segment. Legs, especially tarsi, distinctly longer and more slender than in M. lunata; femora and tibiae brown with black tips; tarsi-darker. Wings resembling those of M. lunata, but there is a small white streak before humeral cross-vein, and a whitish mark in cell M1; the stem of this cell is shorter (one-fifth to one-eighth as long as the cell). Length of body, 9–10 mm (0.35–0.39 in).; wing, 14–16 mm (0.55–0.63 in).; hind leg, ♂ 38–42 mm (1.5–1.7 in).[3]
Distribution and habitat
The species is endemic to New Zealand,[5] found on both the North Island and South Island.[2] It tends to live in rotting wood.[6]
Gallery
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Close-up of body
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L. huttoni in relation to a kiwifruit
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Wing
References
- ^ "Leptotarsus (Macromastix) huttoni (Edwards, 1923)". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ^ a b "Leptotarsus (Macromastix) huttoni (Edwards, 1923)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ^ a b Edwards, F. W. (1923). "A Preliminary Revision of the Crane-flies of New Zealand (Anisopodidae, Tanyderidae, Tipulidae)". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 54: 265–352. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q117349597. This article incorporates text from Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 54, a publication from 1923, now in the public domain in the United States.
- ^ Dobrotworsky, N. V. (1968). "The Tipulidae (Diptera) of Australia I. A review of the genera of the subamily Tipulinae". Australian Journal of Zoology. 16 (3): 459. doi:10.1071/ZO9680459. ISSN 0004-959X. Wikidata Q99975620.
- ^ "Leptotarsus huttoni (Edwards, 1923)". New Zealand Organisms Register. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ^ Macfarlane, R. P.; Patrick, B. H.; Johns, P. M.; Vink, C. J. (April 1998). Travis Marsh: invertebrate inventory and analysis (Report). New Zealand: Department of Pest Management and Conservation.
Further reading
- Rogers, J. Speed (1928). "Descriptions of the Immature Stages of some New Zealand Crane-flies: Part 1". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 58: 301–309. ISSN 1176-6158. Wikidata Q117349753.