Athericidae
| Athericidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ibisia marginata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Superfamily: | Tabanoidea |
| Family: | Athericidae Stuckenberg,1973 |
Athericidae is a small family of flies known as water snipe flies or ibis flies. They used to be placed in the family Rhagionidae, but were removed by Stuckenberg in 1973. They are now known to be more closely related to Tabanidae. Species of Athericidae are found worldwide.
Ecology
The adults mostly feed on nectar but some species feed on mammal blood.[1] Hematophagy has been demonstrated in adult Suragina and Suraginella and is suspected in other genera. The larvae have distinctive morphology; they have long abdominal prolegs with crocheted hooks. These structures help the larvae move without being washed away in their preferred larval habitat, fast flowing montane streams and torrents. The larvae are predators of other aquatic invertebrates such as caddisflies.
Subfamilies and genera
There are two subfamilies; Dasyommatinae contains only Dasyomma and all other extant genera are in Athericinae.
- Dasyommatinae
- Dasyomma Macquart, 1840
- Athericinae
- Asuragina Yang & Nagatomi, 1992
- Atherix Meigen, 1803
- Atrichops Verrall, 1909
- Ibisia Róndani, 1856
- Microphora Krober, 1840
- Pachybates Bezzi, 1992
- Suragina Walker, 1858
- Suraginella Stuckenberg, 2000
- Trichacantha Stuckenberg, 1955
- Xeritha Stuckenberg, 1966
- Athericites † Mostovski, Jarzembowski & Coram, 2003
- Succinatherix † Stuckenberg, 1974
See also
References
- Brian R. Stuckenberg: The Athericidae, a new family in the lower Brachycera (Diptera). Annals of the Natal Museum, 21, S. 649-673, 1973
- Catalogue of Life
- Biolib
External links
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