The fauna of Conopidae (Diptera) in the Gemer area (central Slovakia) with updated checklist of Slovakia

Results of the study of family Conopidae (Diptera) in the Gemer area (Slovakia) are presented. A total of 35 species are treated based mostly on newly collected material and partly also older museum material (altogether 295 specimens, mainly from the Muránska planina National Park and the Cerová vrchovina Protected Landscape Area) supplemented with previously published records. Each species is listed with comments about its general distribution, biology and faunistic and/or nature-conservancy importance. The Gemer regional fauna of Conopidae is distinguished for relatively high species diversity and for the occurrence of several rare or stenotopic species. Five species, Leopoldius brevirostris (Germar, 1827), L. signatus (Wiedemann, 1824), Merziella longirostris (Lyneborg, 1962), Sicus nigritarsis Zimina, 1975, and Thecophora bimaculata (Preyssler, 1791), are new additions to the fauna of Slovakia. In addition, four more species belong to rare and little-known taxa, with only a few previous records from the country. The known fauna of the Gemer area is enriched by 14 species; 14 species are recorded from the Muránska planina NP and 24 from the Cerová vrchovina PLA for the first time. The peculiarities of the fauna of Conopidae in the Gemer territory are discussed regarding the species most important from the faunistic, ecological and nature-conservancy points of view. The updated checklist of Conopidae of Slovakia is compiled and presented.