Research identifies new ulidiid species T. berlandi and U. facialis in Saudi Arabia, highlighting the diversity of ulidiini flies.
Background Two tribes of the family Ulidiidae were previously recognized from Saudi Arabia, namely Otitini and Ulidiini. Flies of the tribe Ulidiini are relatively small to medium-sized, mainly blackish-brown with some metallic sheen; however, several species are predominantly yellowish. This tribe is made up of three Old World genera: Physiphora Fallén, 1810, Timia Wiedemann, 1824, and Ulidia Meigen, 1826. Before this study, only five species of this tribe have been recorded from the Arabian Peninsula, including three species from Saudi Arabia, and they all exclusively belong to the genus Physiphora . Results In the present study, the two ulidiid genera, Timia Wiedemann, 1824, and Ulidia Meigen, 1826, and their respective species, T. berlandi (Séguy, 1953) and U. facialis Hendel, 1931, are being recorded for the first time from Saudi Arabia, marking their first record in the entire Arabian Peninsula. Global and local distributions, collection details, diagnosis, and some colored photographs are given for each species. An updated key to the Saudi Arabian genera and species of the tribe Ulidiini is provided. Conclusions The picture-winged fly fauna (family Ulidiidae) in Saudi Arabia is supplemented with the genera Timia Wiedemann, 1824, and Ulidia Meigen, 1826, and their respective species T. berlandi (Séguy, 1953) and U. facialis Hendel, 1931. Consequently, the tribe Ulidiini is now represented by all three of its Old World genera in Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number of Ulidiini species in the country to five.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
El-Hawagry et al. (2025) studied this question.