Skuse, F.A.A. 1890a. Diptera of Australia, Part 7. The Tipulidae brevipalpi. Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New South Wales (2) 4: 774.
Thrypticomyia is a group of slender delicate flies that are predominantly found throughout the islands of the Australian/Oceanic and Oriental Regions. The genus is based on the near alignment of interanal crossveins with the wing arculus (MA). The remaining genera of Limoniinae do not show such an alignment and instead have the internal crossveins in disalignment and typically located basal to the arculus.
Head: Anterior vertex suppressed. Rostrum length less than that of the remaining head. Maxillary palpus length less than or subequal to that of head; palpomeres subequal. Antennae: 14 articles; antenomeres variable (oval, cylindrical, or moniliform); vertices of antenomeres long.
Wings: Subhylane, coloration of wings variable; cells without microtrichia; wing base cuniform, anal angle of wing greatly reduced. Wing venation: Basal crossveins in near allignment with arculus (MA); Sc short, Sc2 removed from or in alignment with Sc1, both elements ending before origin of Rs; R1 variable, typically straight to wing margin, longer than R2; tip of R1+2 may be atrophied to a spurious element; two branches of Rs (R3, R4+5) attaining wing margin; two Medial veins (M1+2, M3) attaining wing margin; cell dm present; distal wing chord not in alignment; two Cubital veins (CuA1, CuA2) attaining wing margin; two Anal veins (A1, A2) attaining wing margin.
Male hypopygium: 9th tergite (9t) and sternite (9s) separated by lateral division; posterior edge of 9t commonly excavated medially. Mesoventral lobe of gonocoxite present. Gonostylus bifid; dorsal gonostyle a heavily sclerotized, falcate rod; ventral gonostyle bulbous with a basal rostral prolongation equipped with two spines. Aedeagus simple or with posterior margin expanded into two terminal spines, with one or two terminal openings. Proctriger simple, without modification.
Thrypticomyia is strongly an Australian/Oceanic genus with 24 of the 35 species found here. The Oriental region contains 9 species that are found primarily in the insular areas of the region, with a single species known from Nepal. The remaining species are found in the Eastern Palearctic (1 species) and Afrotropical (5 species) Regions.
The larval habitat of this subgenus is unknown.
