Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Desmometopa varipalpis Malloch, 1927

mosca, fly

Collected in dry zone. I have re-identified the specimen examined by Curran (1934) and conclude that it is D. varipalpis. Consequently, as suggested by Sabrosky (1983), the record of D. m-nigrum in the Pacific was based on a misidentification.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Diptera

Suborder
Brachycera

Family
Milichiidae

Genus
Desmometopa

Species
varipalpis

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn: m-nigrum Curran 1934: 162, nec Zetterstedt.

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1932

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: On habitat material (soil, vegetation)

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Baltra, Isabela, Santa Cruz.

References

  • Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
  • Peck, S.B. (1996) Origin and development of an insect fauna on a remote archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. In: Keast A., Miller S.E. (eds.): The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea to eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 91-122.
  • Sinclair, B. J. (2023) An annotated checklist of the Diptera of the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador). Zootaxa, 5283, 1-102
  • Sinclair, B.J. Peck, S.B. (2005) An annotated checklist of the Diptera of the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador). Charles Darwin Research Station, unpublished, 64 pp.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Desmometopa varipalpis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=12303. Accessed 2 November 2026.