Trichoceridae (Winter Crane Flies)

Trichoceridae are a small family of slender, generally cold-loving, crane flies. The adults resemble Tipulidae and Limoniidae but all Australian Trichoceridae can be differentiated from these families by the presence of ocelli and a short curved 2nd anal vein (A2) (Fig.2). Tasmania has two genera, Trichocera with a single introduced species (T. annulata) and Nothotrichocera with high endemism. The Australian mainland has a third genus, Zedura with a single described Australian species (Z. uriarra).

Trichocera can be distinguished from Nothotrichocera and Zedura by the presence of tibial spurs and the basitarsus (1st tarsal segment) being distinctly longer than the 2nd tarsal segment (Fig.1). The basitarsi of Zedura are odd, being extremely short, oblique in shape, and essentially inflexible. Trichocera and Nothotrichocera share very similar wing venation, though the inner angle of the discal cell in Nothotrichocera differs by being more acute and with 1st section of M1+2 relatively shorter and not distinctly arched (Fig.2, red arrows).

Fig.1 Leg characters of Nothotrichocera (left) and Trichocera (right). Trichocera have tibial spurs and basitarsi (1st tarsal segments) distinctly longer than 2nd tarsal segments. Nothotrichocera lack tibial spurs and basitarsi never longer than the next segment.

Fig.2 Wing venation of Nothotrichocera (top) and Trichocera (bottom) — Nothotrichocera have discal cell (dm) typically with inner angle acute and with 1st section of M1+2 (red arrow) short, where in comparison Trichocera has the inner angle larger and with 1st section of M1+2 distinctly arched. The short and strongly curved 2nd anal vein (A2) occurs in most Trichoceridae genera, including all Australian Trichoceridae.

Subfamily Trichocerinae
Genus Nothotrichocera

Genus Trichocera

References
Alexander, C.P. 1926. The Trichoceridae of Australia (Diptera). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 51: 299-304.

Krzeminska, E. 1994. Nothotrichocera Alexander (Diptera: Trichoceridae): Three new species from Australia. Invertebrate Taxonomy 8: 911-922.

Krzeminska, E. 2001. Nothotrichocera Alexander (Diptera : Trichoceridae): new species, redescriptions and phylogenetic relationships within the genus. Invertebrate Taxonomy 15: 205-216.

Krzeminska, E. 2003. Genus Paracladura Brunetti of the Australian Region. II. Characteristics of the lobifera and curtisi groups of species; two new species described (Diptera, Trichoceridae). New Zealand Journal of Zoology 30(2): 127-139.

Oosterbroek, P. 2007. Family Trichoceridae. In: Evenhuis, NL (ed.), Catalog of the Diptera of the Australasian and Oceanian Regions. (online version). Available at: http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/aocat/trichoceridae.html . Last accessed: 2 August 2020.