Sciomyzidae

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Sciomyzidae
Marsh fly Tetanocera species.JPG
Tetanocera sp. Size = 10mm [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Section: Schizophora
Subsection: Acalyptratae
Superfamily: Sciomyzoidea
Family: Sciomyzidae
Fallén, 1820
Subfamilies

Sciomyzinae
Huttonininae (disputed)
Phaeomyiinae (disputed)
Salticellinae (disputed)

Contents

Synonyms

Huttoninidae (disputed)
Phaeomyiidae (disputed)
Tetanoceridae

Pherbellia annulipes hunting on decaying wood (video, 1m 6s)
Limnia sp. on a blade of grass (video, 34s)

The family Sciomyzidae belongs to the typical flies (Brachycera) of the order Diptera. They are commonly called marsh flies, and in some cases snail-killing flies due to the food of their larvae. [2]

Here, the Huttoninidae, Phaeomyiidae and Tetanoceridae are provisionally included in the Sciomyzidae. Particularly the latter seem to be an unequivocal part of this group and are ranked as tribe of subfamily Sciomyzinae by most modern authors, while the former two are very small lineages that may or may not stand outside the family and are provisionally ranked as subfamilies here. Whether the Salticellinae and the group around Sepedon warrant recognition as additional subfamilies or are better included in the Sciomyzinae proper is likewise not yet entirely clear. Altogether, the main point of contention is the relationship between the "Huttoninidae", "Phaeomyiidae", Sciomyzidae sensu stricto , and the Helosciomyzidae which were also once included in the Sciomyzidae.

Sciomyzidae are found in all the biogeographic realms but are poorly represented in the Australasian and Oceanian realms.

Description

Sciomyzidae are small or medium-sized (2–14 mm), usually slender flies with predominantly dull grey, brown, reddish or yellow body, rarely black-lustrous. Wings hyaline, often with dark spots or dark reticulate pattern. The head is semispherical or round. The antennae are usually elongate and the arista is pubescent or has shorter or longer hairs. Ocelli and ocellar bristles are present (absent in Sepedon). The postvertical bristles are divergent or parallel. There are one or two pairs of frontal bristles which curve backward (the lower pair sometimes curving inward) Interfrontal bristles are absent but interfrontal setulae are sometimes present. Vibrissae are absent. The wing is clear or with conspicuous markings. The costa is continuous and the subcosta is complete. Crossvein BM-Cu is present and the anal cell (cell cup) is closed. Tibiae almost always have a dorsal preapical bristle.

Biology

Marsh flies are common along the edges of ponds and rivers, and in marshy areas. The adults drink dew and nectar. The larvae prey on or become parasites of gastropods (slugs and snails). The occasional sciomyzid attacks snail eggs or fingernail clams. [3] Very little is known about the complete life cycle of these flies but most of the known larvae are semi-aquatic and some are aquatic. Other species have terrestrial larvae. Larvae mainly prey on non-operculate snails. Some species which prey on bivalves have larvae adapted to breathing under water. In some terrestrial species the penultimate larval instar emerges from the snail or slug it developed in. The last instar is then predatory on several snails.

The adults rest on vegetation head down. According to the larval habitat, they are found near water, in marshy vegetation, in woodland or occasionally dry open habitats.

Identification

Selected genera

Subfamily Sciomyzinae (possibly polyphyletic)

Tribe Sciomyzini
Tribe Tetanocerini
Subfamily Huttonininae (tentatively placed here)
Subfamily Phaeomyiinae (tentatively placed here)
Subfamily Salticellinae (sometimes included in Sciomyzinae)

Related Research Articles

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

The Ulidiidae or picture-winged flies are a large and diverse cosmopolitan family of flies (Diptera), and as in related families, most species are herbivorous or detritivorous. They are often known as picture-winged flies, along with members of other families in the superfamily Tephritoidea that have patterns of bands or spots on the wings. Some species share with the Tephritidae an unusual elongated posteroapical projection of the anal cell in the wing, but can be differentiated by the smoothly curving subcostal vein. Two species, Tetanops myopaeformis and Euxesta stigmatias, are agricultural pests.

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

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.

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

Rhinophorinae is a subfamily of flies (Diptera), commonly known as Woodlouse Flies, found in all zoogeographic regions except Oceania, but mainly in the Palaearctic and Afrotropical regions.

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

The Platystomatidae are a distinctive family of flies (Diptera) in the superfamily Tephritoidea.

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

The Helosciomyzidae are a small family of flies found exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. With the exception of the South American genus Sciogriphoneura, helosciomyzids occur only in Australia and New Zealand.

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

Otitinae is the name of a subfamily of flies in the family Ulidiidae. It was formerly the Otitidae. Like the Ulidiinae, most species are herbivorous or saprophagous. Most species share with the Tephritidae an unusual elongated projection of the anal cell in the wing, but can be differentiated by the smoothly curving subcostal vein. Most are dull gray to shiny brown or black flies with vein R1 setulose or, in a few cases, bare.

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

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.

<i>Pherbellia</i> Genus of flies

Pherbellia is a genus of flies in the family Sciomyzidae, the marsh flies or snail-killing flies. They occur throughout the world, except for the Subantarctic region.

<i>Sepedon</i> Genus of flies

Sepedon is a genus of flies in the family Sciomyzidae, the marsh flies or snail-killing flies.

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

Limnia is a genus of flies in the family Sciomyzidae, the marsh flies or snail-killing flies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetanocerini</span> Tribe of flies

Tetanocerini is a tribe of flies in the family Sciomyzidae. There are more than 400 described species in the tribe.

<i>Tetanocera</i> Genus of flies

Tetanocera is a genus of marsh flies, insects in the family Sciomyzidae. There are at least 50 described species in Tetanocera.

Dictyodes is a genus of flies in the family Sciomyzidae, the marsh flies or snail-killing flies.

Protodictya is a genus of flies in the family Sciomyzidae, the marsh flies or snail-killing flies.

Sepedonea is a genus of flies in the family Sciomyzidae, the marsh flies or snail-killing flies.

Teutoniomyia is a genus of flies in the family Sciomyzidae, the marsh flies or snail-killing flies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sciomyzini</span> Tribe of flies

Sciomyzini is a tribe of flies in the family Sciomyzidae.

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

Sciomyzinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Sciomyzidae.

References

  1. ↑ Cirrus Digital: Marsh Fly - Tetanocera species
  2. ↑ Dennis P. Gordon (2009–2012). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Christchurch, N.Z.: Canterbury University Press. p. 337. ISBN   978-1-877257-72-8. OCLC   340800193.
  3. ↑ Foote, B.A.; Knutson, L.V.; Keiper, J.B. (1999). "The snail-killing flies of Alaska (Diptera: Sciomyzidae)". Insecta Mundi. 13 (1–2): 45–71. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Papp, László (2004). "Description of the first apterous genus of Sciomyzidae (Diptera), from Nepal". Revue suisse de Zoologie . 111 (1): 57–62. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Cresson, Ezra Townsend (1920). "A Revision of the Nearctic Sciomyzidae (Diptera, Acalyptratae)". Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 46 (1): 27–89. JSTOR   25077025.
  6. 1 2 Steyskal, G C; Knutson, L V (1975). "Key to the genera of Sciomyzidae (Diptera) from the Americas south of the United States, with descriptions of two new genera". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 77: 274–277. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  7. ↑ Sack, Pius (1939). "Sciomyzidae". Die Fliegen der Paläarktischen Region. 125 (1, 2, 3).
  8. ↑ Marinoni, Luciane; Zumbado, Manuel A.; Knutson, Lloyd. "A new genus and species of Sciomyzidae (Diptera) from the Neotropical Region". Zootaxa. 540 (1). ISSN   1175-5334.
  9. ↑ Becker, Theodor (1919). Diptères, brachycères. Mission du Service Geographique de l'Armée pour la mesure d'un arc de méridien équatorial en Amérique du Sud sous le contrôle scientifique de l'Académie des Sciences, 1899-1906. Paris: Gauthier-Villars. p. 163. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Malloch, John Russell (1933). "Acalyptrata; Heleomyzidae, Trypetidae, Sciomyzidae, Sapromyzidae". Diptera of Patagonia and South Chile. 6 (4): 177–389.
  11. 1 2 Enderlein, Günther (1939). "Zur Kenntnis der Klassifikation der Tetanoceriden (Diptera)". Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Kolonial- und Übersee-Museum in Bremen. 2 (3): 201–210.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Knutson, Lloyd Vernon; Vala, Jean-Claude (2011). Biology of Snail-Killing Sciomyzidae Flies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–526. ISBN   978-0521867856.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Verbeke, J. (1950). "Sciomyzidae (Diptera Cyclorrhapha)" (PDF). Exploration du Parc National Albert (Mission G. F. DE WITTE, 1933-1935). 63: 1–97. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 Tonnoir, A. L.; Malloch, J. R. (1928). "New Zealand Muscidae Acalyptratae. Part IV. Sciomyzidae". Records of the Canterbury Museum. 3 (3): 151–179.
  15. 1 2 Barnes, Jeffrey K. (1980). "Taxonomy of the New Zealand genus Eulimnia, and biology and immature stages of E. philpotti (Diptera: Sciomyzidae)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 7: 91–103. doi:10.1080/03014223.1980.10423766.
  16. ↑ Steyskal, George C. (1954). "Colobaea and Hedria, Two Genera of Sciomyzidae New to America (Diptera: Acalyptratae)". The Canadian Entomologist. 86 (2): 60–65. doi:10.4039/Ent8660-2. S2CID   85786311.
  17. ↑ Neodictya Elberg, 1965
  18. ↑ Mayer, Helmut (1953). "Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Sciomyzidae (Dipt. Musc. acalyptr.)" (PDF). Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. 59: 202–219. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  19. 1 2 Hendel, F. (1900). "Untersuchungen über die europäischen Arten der Gattung Tetanocera im Sinne Schiner's. Eine dipterologische Studie". Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien. 50: 319–358.
  20. 1 2 Steyskal, George C. (1973). "A New Classification of the Sepedon Group of the Family Sciomyzidae (Diptera) with Two New Genera". Entomological News. 84: 143–146. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  21. ↑ Ghorpade, Kumar; Marinoni, Luciane; Knutson, Lloyd (1999). "Steyskalina picta, new genus and species of Tetanocerini (Diptera, Sciomyzidae) from the Oriental Region". Revista Brasileira de Zoologia. 16 (3): 835–839. doi: 10.1590/S0101-81751999000300020 . Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  22. ↑ Hennig, Willi (1952). "Bemerkenswerte neue Acalyptraten in der Sammlung des Deutschen Entomologischen Institutes (Diptera: Acalyptrata)". Beiträge zur Entomologie. 2 (6): 604–618. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  23. ↑ Perty, M. (1833). Delectus animalium articulatorum quae in itinere per Brasiliam annis MDCCCXVII-MDCCCXX jussu et auspiciis Maximiliani Josephi I. Bavariae regis augustissimi peracto collegerunt Dr. J.B. de Sphix et Dr. C.F. Ph. De Martius. Munich. pp. 189, pl. 37.
  24. ↑ Knutson, L. V. (1968). "A new genus and species of Sciomyzidae from Tanzania, with a key to the genera of the Ethiopian Region and distributional notes". Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa. 31 (1): 175–180.

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