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The available keys for European Hippoboscidae are outdated and do not cover all species currently known from Europe. Therefore, identification keys to the eleven genera and 31 species of the European hippoboscids are provided here. Ornithomya comosa (Austen, 1930) (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) is recorded for the first time from the territory of Slovakia based on one female found on a sand martin, Riparia riparia (Linnaeus, 1758). The list of keds and louse flies recorded from the territory of Slovakia is increased to 20 species. New host records for Slovakia are presented.

Ornithomya avicularia (LINNAEUS, 1758) OÖ, Sengsengebirge, Bodinggraben, 22.7.01. Neu für Oberösterreich., Published as part of Schlüsslmayr, Gerhard, 2018, Erstnachweise von Fliegen (Diptera) für Österreich und einige Bundesländer, pp. 765-800 in Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (1) on page 799, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4004374

ambigua Lutz, Neiva & Costa-Lima, 1915: 185, pl. 27, fig. 5, pl. 28, fig. 7 (Pseudornithomyia). Type locality: Brazil, Minas Gerais and Santa Catarina. ST 4 (CEIOC), but three specimens are apparently loose]. Distr.: Colombia (Antioquia (Valdivia), Santander Norte (Buenos Aires)), Venezuela, Brazil, Peru. Refs.: Bequaert, 1954: 156; Maa, 1963: 14, 1969d: 271 (checklist); Guimarães, 1968: 2 (cat.)., Published as part of Graciolli, Gustavo, 2016, FAMILY HIPPOBOSCIDAE, pp. 771-779 in Zootaxa 4122 (1) on page 773, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4122.1.65, http://zenodo.org/record/265846, {"references":["Lutz, A., Neiva, A. & Costa Lima, A. da (1915) Sobre \" Pupipara \" ou \" Hippoboscidae \" de aves brasileiras. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 7, 173 - 199, pls. 27 - 28. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1590 / s 0074 - 02761915000200003","Bequaert, J. C. (1954) The Hippoboscidae or louse-flies (Diptera) of mammals and birds Part II. Taxonomy, evolution and revision of American Genera and species. Entomologica Americana, New Series, 34, 1 - 232.","Maa, T. C. (1963) Genera and species of Hippoboscidae (Diptera): types, synonymy, habitats and natural groups. Pacific Insects Monographs, 6, 1 - 186.","Guimaraes, L. R. (1968) 101. Family Hippoboscidae. In: Papavero, N. (Ed.), A catalogue of the Diptera of the Americas south of the United States. Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, 7 pp."]}

ambigua Lutz, Neiva & Costa-Lima, 1915: 185, pl. 27, fig. 5, pl. 28, fig. 7 (Pseudornithomyia). Type locality: Brazil, Minas Gerais and Santa Catarina. ST 4 (CEIOC), but three specimens are apparently loose]. Distr.: Colombia (Antioquia (Valdivia), Santander Norte (Buenos Aires)), Venezuela, Brazil, Peru. Refs.: Bequaert, 1954: 156; Maa, 1963: 14, 1969d: 271 (checklist); Guimarães, 1968: 2 (cat.).

Using molecular and morphological data, we investigate the validity of two hippoboscid species, viz. Ornithomya fringillina (Curtis) and O. chloropus (Bergroth) that are parapatric in northern Europe and had previously been synonymized. We study four morphological characters that had been proposed as diagnostic for species separation, but only one, relatively weak character (a gena marking), has discontinuous variation across the putative species. In order to collect more evidence for deciding on the species status, we sequenced an approximately 810 bp long region of COI for 13 specimens from sympatric populations. The signal from the sequences suggests that O. fringillina and O. chloropus are different species because the interspecifi c genetic distances between the taxa are twenty times larger than the intraspecifi c variability of O. fringillina. We argue that even a small number of sequences can yield signifi cant information on taxonomic issues as long as the specimens are predominantly collected for (1) those species/populations whose status is diffi cult to resolve based on morphological information and (2) those specimens that come from sympatric populations of the “problematic” species. (3) We also suggest that the status of a rare species can be adequately addressed with very few sequences as long as the intraspecifi c variability of more common, close relatives have been adequately assessed.