Discovery of a Lineage of Soil-Dwelling Medetera Species with Multi-Coloured Eyes in Southern Europe (Diptera: Dolichopodidae).

Seven species in the genus (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) are described here: sp. nov., sp. nov., sp. nov., sp. nov., sp. nov., sp. nov., and sp. nov. They all originate from the wider Mediterranean region in southwestern Europe (Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Corsica, Sardinia). The most striking feature in most of the species is the bi- or multicolour pattern of the eyes, most conspicuous in sp. nov. and sp. nov. This character is shared by the male and female sex and is thus not regarded as Male Secondary Sexual Character. All species belong to the species group Bickel and are closely related based on shared characters in the hypandrium and cercus. Interestingly, three species with and four species without the basal pair of anterodorsal and posterodorsal bristles on the mid tibia are represented. This suggests that this diagnostic character has less phylogenetic relevance than previously anticipated. Unlike most Palaearctic , at least five of the new species are mostly found on rocky substrates in dry biotopes with a sclerophyllous vegetation. This further supports their relationship with species of the subclade Pollet, Germann and Bernasconi.