Sepsidae
Encyclopedia
Sepsidae are a family
of flies
, commonly called the black scavenger flies or ensign flies. There are approximately 250 species
worldwide. They are usually found around dung or decaying plant and animal material. Many species resemble ants
having a "waist" and glossy black body. Many Sepsidae have a curious wing-waving habit made more apparent by dark patches at the wing end.
Many species have a very wide distribution, reflecting the coprophagous habit of most Sepsidae. Some species have been spread over large territories in association with livestock. Adult flies are found mostly on animal and human excrement
(less often on other rotting organic matter), where eggs are laid and larvae
develop, and on nearby vegetation, carrion, fermenting tree sap, and shrubs and herbs.
Many Sepsidae apparently play an important biological role as decomposers of animal excrement. Some species may have a limited hygienic importance because of their association with human feces. Others are useful tools in forensic entomology
.
This work is partly out of date but still the only review of world genera
.
A very well illustrated guide to all 57 species from 11 genera of Sepsidae flies occurring in Russia, with keys to adults and pre-imaginal stages, and accounts concerning anatomy, phylogeny and distribution.
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 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...
, commonly called the black scavenger flies or ensign flies. There are approximately 250 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...
worldwide. They are usually found around dung or decaying plant and animal material. Many species resemble ants
Ant mimicry
Ant mimicry is mimicry of ants by other organisms. Ants are abundant all over the world, and insect predators that rely on vision to identify their prey such as birds and wasps normally avoid them, either because they are unpalatable, or aggressive. Thus some other arthropods mimic ants to escape...
having a "waist" and glossy black body. Many Sepsidae have a curious wing-waving habit made more apparent by dark patches at the wing end.
Many species have a very wide distribution, reflecting the coprophagous habit of most Sepsidae. Some species have been spread over large territories in association with livestock. Adult flies are found mostly on animal and human excrement
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
(less often on other rotting organic matter), where eggs are laid and larvae
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
develop, and on nearby vegetation, carrion, fermenting tree sap, and shrubs and herbs.
Many Sepsidae apparently play an important biological role as decomposers of animal excrement. Some species may have a limited hygienic importance because of their association with human feces. Others are useful tools in forensic entomology
Forensic entomology
Forensic entomology is the application and study of insect and other arthropod biology to criminal matters. It is primarily associated with death investigations; however, it may also be used to detect drugs and poisons, determine the location of an incident, and find the presence and time of the...
.
Classification
This list may be incomplete.- Subfamily Orygmatinae
- Genus Orygma
- Subfamily Sepsinae
- Tribe Saltellini
- Genus Saltella
- Tribe Sepsini
- Genus Archisepsis
- Genus Decachaetophora
- Genus Enicita
- Genus Enicomira
- Genus Meroplius
- Genus Nemopoda
- Genus Ortalischema
- Genus Sepsidimorpha
- Genus Sepsis
- Genus Themira
- Genus Zuskamira
- Tribe Saltellini
Identification
- Duda, O. 1926 Monographie der Sepsiden (Dipt.). Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 39 (1925): 1-153 and 40 (1926) : 1-110.
This work is partly out of date but still the only review of world genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
.
- Willi Hennig, 1949: 39a. Sepsidae. In Erwin LindnerErwin LindnerErwin Lindner was a German entomologist mainly interested in Diptera.He was born in Böglins, Memmingen , 7 April 1888 and died in Stuttgart 30 November 1988, aged 100 years....
: Die Fliegen der Palaearktischen Region, Bd. V: 1-91, Textfig. 1-81a-d, Taf. I-X, Stuttgart.The only comprehensive work on Palaearctic generaGenusIn biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
and speciesSpeciesIn 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...
. - Adrian C. Pont and Rudolf Meier The Sepsidae (Diptera) of Europe. Fauna Entomologica ScandinavicaFauna Entomologica ScandinavicaFauna Entomologica Scandinavica is a scientific book series of entomological identification manuals for insects in North-West Europe, mainly Fennoscandia and Denmark. The series is used by a number of groups, such as ecologists, biologists, and insect collectors...
Volume 37. 198 pages. ISBN 90-04-12477-2 - A.L. Ozerov Sepsid Flies (Diptera, Sepsidae) of Russia's Fauna. Studies on the fauna; Archives of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University: Zool. Mus. Moscow. Univ. Publ.Language: Russian, title, contents and a summary in English. 184 pages.
A very well illustrated guide to all 57 species from 11 genera of Sepsidae flies occurring in Russia, with keys to adults and pre-imaginal stages, and accounts concerning anatomy, phylogeny and distribution.
- Silva, V. C. . Revisao da familia Sepsidae na regiao Neotropical. Iii. Os generos Palaeosepsis Duda, 1926, Archisepsis Gen. N. e Microsepsis Gen. N., Chave para os Generos Neotropicais (Diptera, Schizophora).. Iheringia. Série Zoologia, v. 75, p. 117-170, 1993.
- Silva, V. C. . Revision of the family Sepsidae of the Neotropical region. ii. The genus Meropliosepsis Duda, 1926 (Diptera, Schizophora). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, v. 36, n. 3, p. 549-552, 1992.
World catalogue
- Ozerov, A.L. World catalogue of the family Sepsidae (Insecta: Diptera), Zoologicheskie issledovania (Zoological Studies), No. 8 (ISSN 1025-532X)