Pelecorhynchidae

Pelecorhynchidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Brachycera
Infraorder: Tabanomorpha
Superfamily: Tabanoidea
Family: Pelecorhynchidae
Genera

Pelecorhynchidae is a small family of flies. All of the genera were originally placed in the family Rhagionidae, and their elevation to family rank has been controversial.[1] Other phylogenetic analyses have supported Pelecorhynchidae as a distinct clade from Rhagionidae.[2] The adults of Pelecorrhynchus mostly feed on nectar of Leptospermum flowers. Larvae have been collected in the damp margins of swamp areas, where they feed on earthworms.[3]

Distribution

The genus Pelecorhynchus is known from Australia and Chile. The genera Glutops and Pseudoerinna are distributed in the Nearctic and eastern Palaearctic.

References

  1. ^ B. Stuckenberg (2001). "Pruning the tree: a critical review of classifications of the Homeodactyla (Diptera, Brachycera), with new perspectives and an alternative classification". Studia Dipterologica. http://www.mendeley.com/research/pruning-tree-critical-review-classifications-homeodactyla-diptera-brachycera-new-perspectives-alternative-classification/. Retrieved 30 September 2011. 
  2. ^ Wiegmann et al (2011). "Episodic radiations in the fly tree of life". PNAS. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/03/10/1012675108. Retrieved 30 September 2011. 
  3. ^ "Australian National Insect Collection Database: Pelecorhynchidae". CSIRO Australia. http://anic.ento.csiro.au/database/biota_details.aspx?BiotaID=46288. Retrieved 24 May 2010.