Hybotidae
Encyclopedia
Hybotidae, the typical dance flies are a family
of true flies
. They belong to the superfamily
Empidoidea
and were formerly included in the Empididae
as a subfamily.
Some, such as Tachydromia
, are predators that run around on the bark of trees in complex pattern, hence the common name. Tachydromia species
are only about three millimeters long.
. Among the Empidoidea
, they represent a lineage more basal than the main radiation of Empididae and Dolichopodidae
, though they are not as ancient as the genera placed in the Atelestidae
.
By and large, the Hybotidae are monophyletic. Among its subfamilies, the Hybotinae and Tachydromiinae
certainly represent clade
s. The status of the Ocydromiinae
as a natural group is less clear, in particular whether the Trichininae should be included as tribe
Trichinini or even in the Bicellariini or Oedaleini, or whether they are more distinct and warrant recognition as a separate subfamily.
are:
Hybotinae Meigen
, 1820
Ocydromiinae
Trichininae (often included in Ocydromiinae)
Tachydromiinae
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of true flies
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
. They belong to the superfamily
Taxonomic rank
In biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...
Empidoidea
Empidoidea
The Empidoidea are a large monophyletic superfamily of true flies, the sister taxon to the Muscomorpha . These two groups are sometimes united in the unranked taxon Eremoneura...
and were formerly included in the Empididae
Empididae
Empididae is a family of flies with over 3,000 described species occurring worldwide, but the majority are found in the Holarctic. They are mainly predatory flies like most of their relatives in the Empidoidea, and exhibit a wide range of forms but are generally small to medium sized, non-metallic...
as a subfamily.
Some, such as Tachydromia
Tachydromia
Tachydromia is a genus of hybotid flies. It is widespread around the world, with species found essentially everywhere except Australia, the polar regions and some remote islands...
, are predators that run around on the bark of trees in complex pattern, hence the common name. Tachydromia species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
are only about three millimeters long.
Systematics
The Hybotidae clearly form a lineage quite distinct from the EmpididaeEmpididae
Empididae is a family of flies with over 3,000 described species occurring worldwide, but the majority are found in the Holarctic. They are mainly predatory flies like most of their relatives in the Empidoidea, and exhibit a wide range of forms but are generally small to medium sized, non-metallic...
. Among the Empidoidea
Empidoidea
The Empidoidea are a large monophyletic superfamily of true flies, the sister taxon to the Muscomorpha . These two groups are sometimes united in the unranked taxon Eremoneura...
, they represent a lineage more basal than the main radiation of Empididae and Dolichopodidae
Dolichopodidae
Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, make up a large family of true flies with more than 7,000 described species in about 230 genera distributed worldwide. The genus Dolichopus is the most speciose, with some 600 species. They are generally small flies with large, prominent eyes and a metallic...
, though they are not as ancient as the genera placed in the Atelestidae
Atelestidae
Atelestidae is a family of true flies in the superfamily Empidoidea. These four genera were placed in a separate family in 1983. They were formerly either in Platypezidae or considered incertae cedis. But while they are doubtless the most basal of the living Empidoidea, the monophyly of the family...
.
By and large, the Hybotidae are monophyletic. Among its subfamilies, the Hybotinae and Tachydromiinae
Tachydromiinae
Tachydromiinae is a subfamily of hybotid flies widespread in the world....
certainly represent clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
s. The status of the Ocydromiinae
Ocydromiinae
Ocydromiinae is a subfamily of hybotid flies. -Tribes:* Tribe Bicellariini Bradley, Sinclair & Cumming, 2006** Genus Bicellaria Macquart, 1823** Genus Hoplocyrtoma** Genus Leptocyrtoma* Tribe Ocydromiini...
as a natural group is less clear, in particular whether the Trichininae should be included as tribe
Tribe (biology)
In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...
Trichinini or even in the Bicellariini or Oedaleini, or whether they are more distinct and warrant recognition as a separate subfamily.
Systematic list
The subfamilies with their tribes and selected generaGenera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
are:
Hybotinae Meigen
Johann Wilhelm Meigen
Johann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1820
- Genus Acarterus
- Genus Afrohybos Smith, 1967
- Genus Ceratohybos
- Genus Chillcottomyia Saigusa, 1986
- Genus Euhybus
- Genus Hybos MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1803 - Genus Lactistomyia
- Genus Lamachella
- Genus Neohybos Ale-Rocha & Carvalho, 2003
- Genus Parahybos
- Genus Smithybos Ale-Rocha, 2000
- Genus Stenoproctus
- Genus Syndyas LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, 1857 - Genus Syneches WalkerFrancis Walker (entomologist)Francis Walker was an English entomologist. He was one of the most prolific authors in entomology, and stirred controversy during his later life as his publications resulted in a huge number of junior synonyms....
, 1852
Ocydromiinae
Ocydromiinae
Ocydromiinae is a subfamily of hybotid flies. -Tribes:* Tribe Bicellariini Bradley, Sinclair & Cumming, 2006** Genus Bicellaria Macquart, 1823** Genus Hoplocyrtoma** Genus Leptocyrtoma* Tribe Ocydromiini...
- Tribe Bicellariini Bradley, Sinclair & Cumming, 2006
- Genus Bicellaria MacquartJustin Pierre Marie MacquartJustin Pierre Marie Macquart was a French entomologist specialising in the study of Diptera. He worked on world species as well as European and described many new species.-Early years:...
, 1823 - Genus Hoplocyrtoma
- Genus Leptocyrtoma
- Genus Bicellaria Macquart
- Tribe Ocydromiini
- Genus Leptodromiella Tuomikoski, 1936
- Genus LeptopezaLeptopezaLeptopeza is a genus of hybotid flies. -Species:*L. borealis Zetterstedt, 1842*L. flavipes...
MacquartJustin Pierre Marie MacquartJustin Pierre Marie Macquart was a French entomologist specialising in the study of Diptera. He worked on world species as well as European and described many new species.-Early years:...
, 1834 - Genus OcydromiaOcydromiaOcydromia is a genus of hybotid flies. -Species:*O. glabricula *O. melanopleura Loew, 1840...
MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1820 - Genus Oropezella CollinJames Edward CollinJames Edward Collin was an English entomologist who specialised in Diptera.He was the author of Empididae. British Flies, Volume 6. University Press, Cambridge...
, 1926
- Tribe Oedaleini Chvála, 1983
- Genus Allanthalia MelanderAxel Leonard MelanderAxel Leonard Melander was an American entomologist specialising in Diptera and Hymenoptera.His collection is shared between the German Entomological Institute and the Smithsonian Institution Washington D.C-External links:*...
, 1927 - Genus Anthalia ZetterstedtJohan Wilhelm ZetterstedtJohan Wilhelm Zetterstedt was a Swedish naturalist who worked mainly on Diptera and Hymenoptera.-Biography:Zetterstedt studied at the University of Lund, where he was a pupil of Anders Jahan Retzius. He received the title of professor in 1822 and succeeded Carl Adolph Agardh as professor of botany...
, 1838 - Genus Euthyneura MacquartJustin Pierre Marie MacquartJustin Pierre Marie Macquart was a French entomologist specialising in the study of Diptera. He worked on world species as well as European and described many new species.-Early years:...
, 1836 - Genus Oedalea MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1820
- Genus Allanthalia Melander
Trichininae (often included in Ocydromiinae)
- Genus Trichina MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1822 - Genus Trichinomyia Tuomikoski, 1966
Tachydromiinae
Tachydromiinae is a subfamily of hybotid flies widespread in the world....
- Tribe Symballophthalmini Bradley, Sinclair & Cumming, 2006
- Genus Symballophthalmus Becker, 1889
- Tribe DrapetiniDrapetiniDrapetini is a tribe of hybotid flies widespread in the world. There are 19 currently recognised genera. See the Wikispecies link below for details....
CollinJames Edward CollinJames Edward Collin was an English entomologist who specialised in Diptera.He was the author of Empididae. British Flies, Volume 6. University Press, Cambridge...
, 1961- Genus Allodromia
- Genus Atodrapetis Plant, 1997
- Genus Austrodrapetis
- Genus Austrodromia CollinJames Edward CollinJames Edward Collin was an English entomologist who specialised in Diptera.He was the author of Empididae. British Flies, Volume 6. University Press, Cambridge...
, 1961 - Genus Chaetodromia
- Genus Chersodromia HalidayAlexander Henry HalidayAlexander Henry Haliday, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday and Alexis Heinrich Haliday sometimes Halliday , was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera and Thysanoptera, but Haliday worked on all insect orders and on many aspects of entomology.Haliday...
in WalkerFrancis Walker (entomologist)Francis Walker was an English entomologist. He was one of the most prolific authors in entomology, and stirred controversy during his later life as his publications resulted in a huge number of junior synonyms....
, 1851 - Genus Crossopalpus BigotJacques-Marie-Frangile BigotJacques Marie Frangile Bigot was a French naturalist and entomologist most noted for his studies of Diptera. Born in Paris, where he lived all his life, though he had a small house in Quincy-sous-Sénart, Essonne.He became a member of the Entomological Society of France in 1844. His first paper...
, 1857 - Genus Drapetis MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1822 - Genus Dusmetina
- Genus Elaphropeza MacquartJustin Pierre Marie MacquartJustin Pierre Marie Macquart was a French entomologist specialising in the study of Diptera. He worked on world species as well as European and described many new species.-Early years:...
, 1827 - Genus Isodrapetis CollinJames Edward CollinJames Edward Collin was an English entomologist who specialised in Diptera.He was the author of Empididae. British Flies, Volume 6. University Press, Cambridge...
, 1961 - Genus Megagrapha MelanderAxel Leonard MelanderAxel Leonard Melander was an American entomologist specialising in Diptera and Hymenoptera.His collection is shared between the German Entomological Institute and the Smithsonian Institution Washington D.C-External links:*...
, 1928 - Genus Micrempis MelanderAxel Leonard MelanderAxel Leonard Melander was an American entomologist specialising in Diptera and Hymenoptera.His collection is shared between the German Entomological Institute and the Smithsonian Institution Washington D.C-External links:*...
, 1928 - Genus Nanodromia
- Genus NgaheremyiaNgaheremyiaNgaheremyia is a monotypic genus endemic to New Zealand. See the Wikispecies link below for more details and full references....
- Genus Pontodromia
- Genus Sinodrapetis
- Genus Stilpon LoewHermann LoewFriedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, 1859
- Tribe Tachydromiini
-
- Genus Ariasella
- Genus Charadrodromia MelanderAxel Leonard MelanderAxel Leonard Melander was an American entomologist specialising in Diptera and Hymenoptera.His collection is shared between the German Entomological Institute and the Smithsonian Institution Washington D.C-External links:*...
, 1928 - Genus Dysaletria
- Genus Pieltainia
- Genus PlatypalpusPlatypalpusPlatypalpus is a genus of hybotid flies. It is worldwide in distribution, but best represented in Europe, with other 200 species.-Species:*P. aeneus *P. agilis *P. albicornis...
MacquartJustin Pierre Marie MacquartJustin Pierre Marie Macquart was a French entomologist specialising in the study of Diptera. He worked on world species as well as European and described many new species.-Early years:...
, 1827 - Genus TachydromiaTachydromiaTachydromia is a genus of hybotid flies. It is widespread around the world, with species found essentially everywhere except Australia, the polar regions and some remote islands...
- Genus Tachyempis MelanderAxel Leonard MelanderAxel Leonard Melander was an American entomologist specialising in Diptera and Hymenoptera.His collection is shared between the German Entomological Institute and the Smithsonian Institution Washington D.C-External links:*...
, 1928 - Genus Tachypeza MeigenJohann Wilhelm MeigenJohann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...
, 1830
External links
- Family description
- Images at Diptera.info
- https://sites.google.com/site/mikesinsectkeys/Home/diptera/hybotidae Key to UK genera