Curtonotidae | |
---|---|
Curtonota gibbum from Macquart, 1838 Insectes diptères exotiques nouveaux ou peu connus | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Diptera |
Superfamily: | Ephydroidea |
Family: | Curtonotidae Enderlein, 1914 |
Genera | |
See text |
The Curtotonidae or quasimodo flies [1] are a small family of small grey to dark brown humpbacked flies (Diptera) with a worldwide distribution, but with very few species in the Nearctic, Australasian/Oceanian, and Palaearctic regions. Most members of the family are found in tropical to subtropical latitudes in Africa and the Neotropics. Many remain undescribed in collections, since little work on the family has been done since the 1930s. [2]
For terms see Morphology of Diptera
Medium-sized flies. The postvertical bristles on head are well developed and cruciate and there are three orbital bristles on head on each side of frons. Arista with long plumosity. Costa with two interruptions one more distal to the humeral crossvein and one before subcosta. Subcosta developed throughout its length up to costa. The posterior basal wing cell and discoidal wing cell are fused. The costa bears spinules.
The family has at various times been placed in the Drosophilidae, Diastatidae, and Ephydridae. In 1934 Duda proposed the family name Curtonotidae and nowadays family rank is now widely accepted. [3]
Greathead (1958) records the immature stages as scavengers within egg pods of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria . Cuthbertson (1936) reared an Afrotropical species, Cyrtona albomacula Curran, from human faeces in Zimbabwe. Others have been found in the burrows of warthogs and ant bears.
Only one fossil species of Curtonotidae is known, Curtonotum gigas Théobald, from Oligocene deposits in France.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
McAlpine (1989) [5] | Grimaldi (1990) [6] |
Anthrax is a genus of bombyliid flies, commonly known as "bee-flies" due to their resemblance to bees. Most are dull black flies, and are usually small to medium in size, 4–20 millimetres (0.2–0.8 in), and many species have striking wing patterns.
The Acalyptratae or Acalyptrata are a subsection of the Schizophora, which are a section of the order Diptera, the "true flies". In various contexts the Acalyptratae also are referred to informally as the acalyptrate muscoids, or acalyptrates, as opposed to the Calyptratae. All forms of the name refer to the lack of calypters in the members of this subsection of flies. An alternative name, Acalypterae is current, though in minority usage. It was first used by Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart in 1835 for a section of his tribe Muscides; he used it to refer to all acalyptrates plus scathophagids and phorids, but excluding Conopidae.
Sphaeroceridae are a family of true flies in the order Diptera, often called small dung flies, lesser dung flies or lesser corpse flies due to their saprophagous habits. They belong to the typical fly suborder Brachycera as can be seen by their short antennae, and more precisely they are members of the section Schizophora. There are over 1,300 species and about 125 genera accepted as valid today, but new taxa are still being described.
The Micropezidae are a moderate-sized family of acalyptrate muscoid flies in the insect order Diptera, comprising about 500 species in about 50 genera and five subfamilies worldwide,. They are most diverse in tropical and subtropical habitats, especially in the Neotropical Region.
The Lauxaniidae are a family of acalyptrate flies. They generally are small flies with large compound eyes that often are brightly coloured in life, sometimes with characteristic horizontal stripes, such as in Cestrotus species. Many species have variegated patterns on their wings, but in contrast they generally do not have variegated bodies, except for genera such as Cestrotus, whose camouflage mimics lichens or the texture of granitic rocks.
The Dryomyzidae are a small family of flies ranging from 4–18 mm long, with prominent bristles, and yellow to brown or rust-yellow coloring. The wings are very large. The subcosta is complete and well separated from vein 1. Larvae feed on decaying organic matter - carrion, dung, and fungi. The prelambrum protrudes from the oral cavity. Vibrissae are absent and the postvertical bristles are divergent.
Clusiidae or "druid flies" is a family of small, thin, yellow to black acalyptrate flies with a characteristic antenna and with the wing usually partially infuscated. They have a cylindrical body. The head is round, the vertical plate reaches the anterior margin of the frons and the vibrissae on the head are large. The costa is interrupted near subcosta and the latter developed throughout length. Larvae are found in the bark of trees, the flies on trunks. The larvae are notable for their ability to jump. Males of many species in the subfamily Clusiodinae have been observed while engaged in lekking behaviour. There are hundreds of species in 14 genera found in all the Ecoregions, although most species occur in tropical regions. The type genus is Clusia Haliday, 1838.
The Coelopidae or kelp flies are a family of Acalyptratae flies, they are sometimes also called seaweed flies, though both terms are used for a number of seashore Diptera. Fewer than 40 species occur worldwide. The family is found in temperate areas, with species occurring in the southern Afrotropical, Holarctic, and Australasian regions.
Chyromyidae are small to very small cyclorrhaphous, acalypterate flies (Diptera) currently classified within the Heleomyzoidea by most authors. The majority have a pale yellow integument and bright iridescent green, red or purple eyes. The family is represented in all continents except Antarctica. There are about 150 named species in this family worldwide. There has been no comprehensive taxonomic study to elucidate the generic limits of species in the family. Currently, only four genera are recognised, but ongoing studies of the African species indicate that there are more.
Diastatidae are a family of flies, and are in the order Diptera. They occur primarily in the Holarctic Region, but several species are known from the Oriental, Neotropical, and Australasian regions. Members of the family number over 20 described species in three genera. There is an additional fossil genus.
The Platystomatidae are a distinctive family of flies (Diptera) in the superfamily Tephritoidea.
Hover flies of the genus Microdon are unusual among the Diptera. Like other members of the subfamily, they are myrmecophiles, meaning they inhabit the nests of ants.
Aulacigastridae is a very small family of flies known as sap flies. The family Stenomicridae used to be included within this family, but was moved by Papp in 1984. They are found in all the Ecoregions.
Hemipenthes is a large genus of flies belonging to the family Bombyliidae (bee-flies). There are many described species, distributed throughout the Holarctic realm. These are small to large robust flies with a body length of 5–14 mm. They can be distinguished from similar genera (Villa) by their wing venation. A number of species formerly in this genus were moved to a separate genus, ins in 2020.
Platystomatinae is a subfamily of flies (Diptera) in the family Platystomatidae that includes 80 genera, the largest subfamily with at last estimate, c. 900 species globally.
Periscelididae is a family of flies.
Pullimosina is a genus of flies in the family Sphaeroceridae, the lesser dung flies.
Curtonotum is a genus of flies in the family Curtonotidae. There are more than 50 described species in Curtonotum.
Scholastinae is a subfamily of flies (Diptera) in the family Platystomatidae, which currently includes 14 genera.
Trapherinae is a subfamily of flies (Diptera) in the family Platystomatidae, which currently includes 11 genera.