Platypezidae

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Platypezidae
Female Poliporivora picta
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Infraclass: Neoptera
Superorder: Endopterygota
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Brachycera
Infraorder: Muscomorpha
Section: Aschiza
Superfamily: Platypezoidea
Family: Platypezidae
Genera

Numerous, see text

Callomyia and Polyporivora
Larval galls (black objects) of Agathomyia wankowiczii on an Artist's Bracket fungus (Ganoderma applanatum)

Platypezidae is a family of true flies of the superfamily Platypezoidea. The more than 250 species are found worldwide primarily in woodland habitats. A common name is flat-footed flies, but this is also used for the closely related Opetiidae which were included in the Platypezidae in former times.[1][2]

Some other genera formerly included here have been recognized as quite more distant and are nowadays placed in the asilomoprh family Atelestidae.

[edit] Biology

Members of the Platypezidae inhabit forests. Larvae are fungivores. Adult males form aerial swarms before mating using trees or bushes as swarm markers. Some are attracted to wood smoke and wood ash. Adults may be found performing rapid erratic movements on broad leaves of both woody and herbaceous plants, evidently feeding on surface deposits.[1]

[edit] Selected genera

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Chandler, Peter J. (1991). Platypezidae. 'In: Soós, Á. & Papp, L. (eds.). Catalogue of Palearctic Diptera. 7. Budapest: Hungarian Natural History Museum. pp. 205–217. 
  2. ^ Chandler, Peter J. (2001). The Flat-footed flies (Opetiidae and Platypezidae) of Europe. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica. 36. Leiden: Brill. pp. 1–278. ISBN 90-04-12023-8. 

[edit] References

  • Chandler, P.J. (1994): The Oriental and Australasian species of Platypezidae (Diptera). Invertebrate Taxonomy 8(2): 351-434. doi:10.1071/IT9940351 (HTML abstract)
  • Kessel, E.L. & Clopton, J.R. (1969): The Platypezidae of the Oriental zoogeographic region and islands to the east, with descriptions of four new species (Diptera). Wasmann Journal of Biology 27: 25-73.
  • Kessel, E.L. & Clopton, J.R. (1970): The Platypezidae of the Ethiopian Zoogeographic Region, with Descriptions of New Species and a New Genus (Diptera). Wasmann Journal of Biology 28(1): 47-167.
  • Kessel, E.L. & Maggioncalda, E.A. (1968): A revision of the genera of Platypezidae, with the description of five new genera, and consideration of phylogeny, circumversion, and hypopygia. (Diptera). Wasmann Journal of Biology 26: 33-106.

[edit] External links

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