''Bolitophila'' is the sole living genus in the Bolitophilidae, a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

in the superfamily Sciaroidea, with around 40 Palaearctic and about 20

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

species, and three species from the Oriental region (Taiwan). They are small (6–9 mm).

Morphology

Biology

The larvae of ''Bolitophila'' are

mycetophagous Fungivory or mycophagy is the process of organisms consuming fungi. Many different organisms have been recorded to gain their energy from consuming fungi, including birds, mammals, insects, plants, amoebas, gastropods, nematodes, bacteria and othe ...

and live in decaying wood or other organic debris overgrown by fungal plant substrates. Pupation takes place inside the fungal mycelium in soil or litter. Adults prefer shady and humid environments and can be found in the undergrowth of mixed forests, often near watercourses.

Evolutionary history

The oldest fossils belonging to ''Bolitophila'' are known from the

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' ...

, with ''Bolitophila warreni'' known from the

Lutetian The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage or age in the Eocene. It spans the time between . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it is sometimes referred to as the Midd ...

aged Kishenehn Formation in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

and ''Bolitophila rohdendorfi'' 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 ...

. The closest known relative to ''Bolitophila'' and only other known member of the family is the extinct genus '' Mangas,'' known from the

Lower Cretaceous Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eight ...

(

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...

) aged Gurvan-Eren Formation of Mongolia and the Khasurty locality of

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respublika Buryatiya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʊˈrʲætʲɪjə; bua, Буряад Улас, Buryaad Ulas, , mn, Буриад Улс, Buriad Uls), is ...

, Russia.

Species

*'' B. acuta'' Garrett, 1925 *'' B. affinis'' Ostroverkhova, 1971 *'' B. alberta'' Fisher, 1937 *'' B. antennata'' Ševčik & Papp, 2004 *'' B. aperta'' Lundström, 1914 *'' B. atlantica'' Fisher, 1934 *'' B. austriaca'' (Mayer, 1950) *'' B. basicornis'' (Mayer, 1951) *'' B. bilobata'' Garrett, 1925 *'' B. bimaculata''

Zetterstedt Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt (20 May 1785 – 23 December 1874) was a Sweden, Swedish Naturalism (philosophy) , naturalist who worked mainly on Diptera and Hymenoptera. Biography Zetterstedt studied at the Lund University, University of Lund, where ...

, 1838 *'' B. bispinosa'' Mayer, 1951 *'' B. bucera'' Shaw, 1940 *'' B. caspersi'' Plassmann, 1987 *'' B. cinerea'' Meigen, 1818 *'' B. clavata'' Garrett, 1925 *'' B. collarti'' (Tollet, 1943) *'' B. connectans'' Garrett, 1925 *'' B. cooremani'' (Tollet, 1955) *'' B. coronata'' Mayer, 1951 *'' B. curviseta'' Ostroverkhova, 1979 *'' B. disjuncta'' Loew, 1869 *'' B. distus'' Fisher, 1937 *'' B. doerrsteini'' Plassmann, 1988 *'' B. dubia'' Siebke, 1863 *'' B. dubiosa'' Van Duzee, 1928 *'' B. duplus'' Garrett, 1925 *'' B. edwardsiana''

Stackelberg __NOTOC__ Stackelberg is a surname, mainly known as the surname of a noble family of Baltic German descent (see Stackelberg family). Notable people with the surname include: A * Adolphe Stackelberg (1822–1871), Swedish count and Christian reviv ...

, 1969 *'' B. exilis'' (Kovalev, 1986) *'' B. fumida''

Edwards Edwards may refer to: People * Edwards (surname) * Edwards family, a prominent family from Chile * Edwards Barham (1937-2014), a former member of the Louisiana State Senate * Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892), an American attorney, jurist, and ora ...

, 1941 *'' B. fusca'' Meigen, 1818 *'' B. glabrata'' Loew, 1869 *'' B. glabratella'' Mayer, 1951 *'' B. hybrida'' ( Meigen, 1804) *'' B. incisa'' Ostroverkhova & Grishina, 1974 *'' B. ingrica''

, 1969 *'' B. japonica'' (Okada, 1934) *'' B. latipes'' Tollet, 1943 *'' B. lengersdorfi'' (Tollet, 1955) *'' B. leruthi'' (Tollet, 1955) *'' B. limitis'' Polevoi, 1996 *'' B. luteola'' Plotnikova, 1962 *'' B. maculipennis'' Mayer, 1951 *'' B. maculipennis'' Walker, 1835 *'' B. mayeri'' Plassmann, 1987 *'' B. melanoleuci'' Polevoi, 1996 *'' B. miki'' (Mayer, 1950) *'' B. modesta'' Lackschewitz, 1937 *'' B. montana''

Coquillett Daniel William Coquillett (23 January 1856, Pleasant Valley, Ill. – 7 July 1911 Atlantic City, New Jersey) was an American entomologist who specialised in Diptera. He wrote a revision of the dipterous family Therevidae and many other scientifi ...

, 1901 *'' B. nana'' ( Macquart, 1826) *'' B. nigrolineata'' Landrock, 1912 *'' B. obscurior''

, 1969 *'' B. occlusa''

, 1913 *'' B. palustris'' Ostroverkhova, 1979 *'' B. patulosa'' Garrett, 1925 *'' B. perlata'' Garrett, 1925 *'' B. plumicornis'' (Mayer, 1951) *'' B. pseudohybrida'' Landrock, 1912 *'' B. raca'' Garrett, 1925 *'' B. rectangulata'' Lundström, 1913 *'' B. recurva'' Garrett, 1925 *'' B. rossica'' Landrock, 1912 *'' B. saundersii'' ( Curtis, 1836) *'' B. scherfi'' Plassmann, 1970 *'' B. sibirica'' (Ostroverkhova, 1979) *'' B. simplex'' Garrett, 1925 *'' B. spelaeicola'' Tollet, 1955 *'' B. spinigera''

, 1925 *'' B. subbimaculata'' Zaitzev, 1994 *'' B. subteresa'' (Garrett, 1925) *'' B. taihybrida'' Ševčik & Papp, 2004 *'' B. tarsata'' Mayer, 1951 *'' B. tarsatiformis'' Ostroverkhova, 1979 *'' B. tenella'' Winnertz, 1863 *'' B. triangulata''

, 1941 *'' B. trullata'' Lundström, 1916 *'' B. tungusica'' Ostroverkhova, 1979

References

External links