''Dolichopus'' is a large cosmopolitan genus of
flies
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 m ...
in the family
Dolichopodidae
Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, are a large, cosmopolitan family of true flies with more than 7,000 described species in about 230 genera. The genus ''Dolichopus'' is the most speciose, with some 600 species.
Dolichopodidae generally are ...
. Adults are small flies, typically less than 8 mm in length. Nearly all species are metallic greenish-blue to greenish-bronze.
It is the largest genus of Dolichopodidae with more than 600 species worldwide.
The name of the genus (''δολιχός'', long, and ''ποὺς'', foot) refers to the length of the feet of its species.
Gallery
File:Dolichopus spec. with prey.ogv, ''Dolichopus sp.'' female with prey (video, 1m 23s)
File:Dolichopus P1070821a.jpg
File:Dolichopus P1070659a.jpg
Species groups and subgenera
The following
species group
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
s exist in ''Dolichopus'':
* ''Dolichopus latipennis'' species group (= ''Hygroceleuthus''
Loew, 1857)
* ''Dolichopus lonchophorus'' species group
* ''Dolichopus longisetus'' species group
* ''Dolichopus planitarsis'' species group (8 species)
–
Palaearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...
* ''Dolichopus plumipes'' species group (11 species)
–
Palaearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...
* ''Dolichopus sagittarius'' species group
* ''Dolichopus salictorum'' species group
* ''Dolichopus signifer'' species group
* ''Dolichopus sublimbatus'' species group (4 species)
* ''Dolichopus tewoensis'' species group (3 species)
–
China
Sometimes the following are considered subgenera of ''Dolichopus'':
* ''Dolichopus''
Latreille, 1796
* ''Hygroceleuthus''
Loew, 1857 (= ''Dolichopus latipennis'' species group)
* ''Macrodolichopus''
Stackelberg, 1933
See also
*
List of Dolichopus species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4037495
Dolichopodidae genera
Dolichopodinae
Articles containing video clips
Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille