Rhagionidae

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Rhagionidae
Temporal range: Anisian–Recent
Schnepfenfliege Rhagio scolopaceus2.jpg
Rhagio scolopaceus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Brachycera
Infraorder: Tabanomorpha
Superfamily: Rhagionoidea
Family: Rhagionidae
Latreille, 1802 [1]
Synonyms

Rhagionidae or snipe flies are a small family of flies. They get their name from the similarity of their often prominent proboscis that looks like the beak of a snipe. [3]

Contents

Description

Rhagionidae are medium-sized to large flies with slender bodies and stilt-like legs. The mouthparts are adapted for piercing and many species are haematophagous as adults, while others are predatory on other insects. They are typically brown and yellow flies, and lack bristles. The larvae are also predatory and are mostly terrestrial, although some are aquatic. [4]

Snipe flies in the genus Rhagio are sometimes called "down-looker" flies after their habit of perching head-downward on tree trunks.

Classification

Rhagio mystaceus
"down-looker fly" Rhagio mystaceus.jpg
Rhagio mystaceus
"down-looker fly"
Chrysopilus thoracicus mating - Female(top) and Male(bottom) Chrysopilus thoracicus mating.jpg
Chrysopilus thoracicus mating - Female(top) and Male(bottom)

The family is contained in Brachycera infraorder Tabanomorpha, and several of its constituent groups have been recently elevated to family rank. Atherix (and related genera) now comprise the Athericidae, Vermileo (and related genera) now comprise the Vermileonidae, and the genera Austroleptis and Bolbomyia are each now the sole members of their own families (Austroleptidae and Bolbomyiidae). [5]

Rhagio scolopaceus
exhibiting its "down-looker" behaviour Snipe fly in wait.jpg
Rhagio scolopaceus
exhibiting its "down-looker" behaviour

List of subfamilies and genera

Arthrocerinae Williston, 1886 [6]

Chrysopilinae Bezzi, 1903 [7]

Rhagioninae Latreille, 1802 [1]

Spaniinae Frey, 1954 [10]

Incertae sedis

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<i>Chrysopilus</i> Genus of flies

Chrysopilus is common, worldwide genus of predatory snipe flies. There are approximately 300 species in the genus, including fossil members that are sometimes found in amber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xylomyidae</span> Family of flies

Xylomyidae is a family of flies known commonly as the wood soldier flies. They are xylophagous and are associated with dead or dying wood.

<i>Rhagio</i> Genus of flies

Rhagio is a worldwide genus of predatory snipe flies. Several species in this genus are referred to as downlooker or down-looker flies because they sometimes perch on tree trunks in a head-down position. There are approximately 170 species. They can be distinguished from other rhagionids by the open anal cell on the wings and the lack of a kidney-shaped arista.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabanoidea</span> Superfamily of flies

Superfamily Tabanoidea are insects in the order Diptera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athericidae</span> Family of flies

Athericidae is a small family of flies known as water snipe flies or ibis flies. They used to be placed in the family Rhagionidae, but were removed by Stuckenberg in 1973. They are now known to be more closely related to Tabanidae. Species of Athericidae are found worldwide.

<i>Symphoromyia</i> Genus of flies

Symphoromyia is a genus of predatory snipe flies. Unusually for Rhagionids, some species of Symphoromyia are known to feed on mammal blood, including human blood. Symphoromyia species are stout bodied flies from 4.5 to 9 mm and with a black, grey or gold thorax, and the abdomen is coloured grey, black, or both black and yellow, black terminating with yellow, to completely yellow. The wings are hyaline or lightly infuscate.

<i>Ptiolina</i>

Ptiolina is a genus of snipe flies of the family Rhagionidae,. Examples are found in Northwest Europe, where it prefers woodlands areas. and North America

Spania is a genus of snipe flies of the family Rhagionidae.

Austroleptis is a genus of snipe flies, and the sole genus in the family Austroleptidae; until 2010, it was placed in the family Rhagionidae. They are small to moderately sized flies of around 3 to 7.7 mm.

Alloleptis is a genus of snipe fly of the family Rhagionidae. It is a small fly of about 4 mm and only known from Sulawesi. It currently contains only one species, Alloleptis tersus.

Arthroceras is a genus of snipe fly of the family Rhagionidae. Arthroceras are mid-sized to large 4.5 to 13 millimetres, black, grey, or yellowish-colored flies that have a fairly long, tapering antenna consisting of 5–8 flagellomeres. Within Rhagonidae, the genus is sometimes(?) placed in the subfamily Arthrocerinae, in which it is the only genus.

Arthroteles is a genus of snipe fly of the family Rhagionidae. Species of Arthroteles are moderately sized, from 5 to 7.5 mm. They are gray to dark gray in colour. Their antenna bears seven to eight tapering flagellomeres, the first much larger than all others.

Atherimorpha is a genus of snipe fly of the family Rhagionidae.

Schizella is a genus of snipe flies of the family Rhagionidae. They are delicate flies from 3.7 to 6.3 mm, with long, thin legs, and the thorax is brown to orange-brown with blue, purple, or golden-coloured setae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhagioninae</span> Subfamily of flies

Rhagioninae is a worldwide subfamily of predatory snipe flies.

<i>Atherix</i> Genus of flies

Atherix is a genus of 'ibis flies' belonging to the family Athericidae, a small family very similar to the Rhagionidae. Species within this genus are present in most of Europe and also in the Nearctic realm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peloropeodinae</span> Subfamily of flies

Peloropeodinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. In some classifications, the genera of the subfamily are included in Sympycninae. According to Germann et al. (2011), the subfamily is polyphyletic.

<i>Dialysis</i> (fly) Genus of flies

Dialysis is a genus of flies in the family Xylophagidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spaniinae</span> Subfamily of flies

Spaniinae is a worldwide subfamily of predatory snipe flies.

Suragina is a genus of flies in the family Athericidae.

References

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  2. Burmeister, H.C. (1837). Handbuch der Naturgeschichte. [Part 2]. Berlin: Enslin. pp. xii + pp. 369–858.
  3. Snipe Fly (Family Rhagionidae) uwm.edu, 1 July 2014
  4. Watson & Dallwitz
  5. 1 2 Kerr, Peter H. (2010). "Phylogeny and classification of Rhagionidae, with implications for Tabanomorpha (Diptera: Brachycera)". Zootaxa. 2592 (1): 1–133.
  6. 1 2 Williston, S.W. (1886). "On two interesting genera of Leptidae". Entomologica Americana. 2: 105–108.
  7. Bezzi, M. (1903). "Orthorrhapha Brachycera. 396 pp. In Becker, T., Bezzi, M., Bischof, J., Kertesz, K. & Stein, P. (eds.)". Katalog der palaarktischen Dipteren. 2: 1–396.
  8. Macquart, P.J.M. (1826). "Insectes diptères du nord de la France. Asiliques, bombyliers, xylotomes, leptides, stratiomyides, xylophagites et tabaniens". Mem. Soc. Sci. Agric. Arts, Lille. 1825: 324–499, 3 pls.
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  21. Nagatomi, A.; Saigusa, T. (1982). "[New genus] p. 40. In Nagatomi, A. 1982. The genera of Rhagionidae (Diptera)". Journal of Natural History. 16: 31–70.
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