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Prosphyracephala
''Prosphyracephala'' is a genus of flies in the family Diopsidae. The genus is presumed to be extinct, and is known from specimens in Baltic amber. Among extant taxa, ''Prosphyracephala'' most closely resembles the genus '' Sphyracephala''. It was originally described as a species of the latter genus, but was recognized as distinct by Willi Hennig Emil Hans Willi Hennig (20 April 1913 – 5 November 1976) was a German biologist and zoologist who is considered the founder of phylogenetic systematics, otherwise known as cladistics. In 1945 as a prisoner of war, Hennig began work on his the ... in 1965.Kotrba, M. (2009): ''Prosphyracephala kerneggeri'' spec. nov. (Diptera, Diopsidae) – a new stalk-eyed fly from Baltic amber. – Spixiana 32/2: 187-192/ref> References Diopsidae † Prehistoric Diptera genera {{Diopsoidea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diopsidae
Stalk-eyed flies are insects of the fly family Diopsidae. The family is distinguished from most other flies by most members of the family possessing "eyestalks": projections from the sides of the head with the eyes at the end. Some fly species from other families such as Drosophilidae, Platystomatidae, Richardiidae, and Tephritidae have similar heads, but the unique character of the Diopsidae is that their antennae are located on the stalk, rather than in the middle of the head as in all other flies. Stalked eyes are present in all members of the subfamily Diopsinae, but are absent in the Centrioncinae, which retain unstalked eyes similar to those of other flies. The stalked eyes are usually sexually dimorphic, with eyestalks present but shorter in females. The stalk-eyed flies are up to a centimeter long, and they feed on both decaying plants and animals. Their unique morphology has inspired research into how the attribute may have arisen through forces of sexual selection and n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphyracephala
''Sphyracephala'' is a genus of stalk-eyed flies in the family Diopsidae. It resembles the presumed extinct genus ''Prosphyracephala'', known from Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 1 .... Species *'' S. hearseiana'' (Westwood, 1844) *'' S. beccarii'' Rondani, 1873 *'' S. europaea'' Papp & Foldvari, 1997 *'' S. nigrimana'' Loew, 1873 References Diopsidae Diopsoidea genera {{Diopsoidea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope Carbon-13, 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope Carbon-12, 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Popigai impact structure, Siberia and in what is now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''olígos'', "few") and (''kainós'', "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included a global expansion o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extant Taxa
Neontology is a part of biology that, in contrast to paleontology, deals with living (or, more generally, '' recent'') organisms. It is the study of extant taxa (singular: extant taxon): taxa (such as species, genera and families) with members still alive, as opposed to (all) being extinct. For example: * The moose (''Alces alces'') is an extant species, and the dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct species. * In the group of molluscs known as the cephalopods, there were approximately 600 extant species and 7,500 extinct species. A taxon can be classified as extinct if it is broadly agreed or certified that no members of the group are still alive. Conversely, an extinct taxon can be reclassified as extant if there are new discoveries of living species ("Lazarus species"), or if previously-known extant species are reclassified as members of the taxon. Most biologists, zoologists, and botanists are in practice neontologists, and the term neontologist is used largely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willi Hennig
Emil Hans Willi Hennig (20 April 1913 – 5 November 1976) was a Germans, German biologist and zoologist who is considered the founder of Phylogenesis, phylogenetic systematics, otherwise known as cladistics. In 1945 as a POWs in World War II, prisoner of war, Hennig began work on his theory of cladistics, which he published in German in 1950, with a substantially revised English translation published in 1966. With his works on evolution and systematics he revolutionised the view of the natural order of beings. As a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist, he specialised in dipterans (true flies). Hennig coined the key terms synapomorphy, Plesiomorphy and symplesiomorphy, symplesiomorphy, and paraphyly. He also asserted, in his "auxiliary principle", that "the presence of apomorphous characters in different species 'is always reason for suspecting kinship [i.e., that species belong to a monophyletic group], and that their origin by convergence should not be presumed a priori' (Hennig, 195 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diopsoidea Genera
The Diopsoidea are a small but diverse cosmopolitan superfamily of acalyptrate muscoids, especially prevalent in the tropics. Some flux exists in the family constituency of this group, with the Strongylophthalmyiidae and Tanypezidae formerly being in this group but now in the Nerioidea. Description As flies, Diopsoidea undergo complete metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ... with the four life stages of egg, larva, pupa and adult. The adult stage has three body segments (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of legs and one pair of wings. Some features that distinguish adult Diopsoidea from other flies are: a well-sclerotised face, antennae usually deflexed to strongly elbowed (if not, then either the fore or hind femur is entirely swollen), ocelli posi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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