Anastrepha Schiner and Toxotrypana Gerstaecker are the most economically important genera of true fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the American tropics and subtropics. Together they also form the most diverse clade of fruit flies in the region, with more than 250 valid species and numerous undescribed species (Norrbom et al. 1999a,b, 2004a, Norrbom & Korytkowski 2009). Because there are so many species, many of which are extremely similar, the development and use of traditional dichotomous keys for their identification is very difficult. Although there are several regional keys (e.g., Zucchi 2000 for Brazil, Hernandez-Ortiz 1992 for Mexico), the most recent comprehensive keys, that by Stone (1942a), and a revised version by Steyskal (1977), are now badly out of date.This system attempts to bring together in a single package all of the relevant taxonomic information for these species, as well as images for each species, and provides a choice of two electronic keys (Intkey or Lucid) that allow the user much greater flexibility to use this information than in a dichotomous key. The interactive keys and descriptions in this system were produced from a data matrix in DELTA format (Dallwitz 1980; Dallwitz, Paine, and Zurcher 1993, 1999), and allow the user to access the latest taxonomic information and images in the most efficient manner. The system provides a more flexible and rapid method for morphological indentification of all species of Anastrepha and Toxotrypana. Future versions will be updated on this site. We will be grateful for notification of corrections or additional information.The tool was funded by USDA APHIS PPQ.

Organization:USDA APHIS ITP

Image Source: http://delta-intkey.com/anatox/intro.htm