The Ropalomeridae are 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 ...
of
acalyptrate 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 ...
.
Description
Ropalomeridae are robust flies of body length, with a superficial resemblance to the
Sarcophagidae
Sarcophagidae () are a family of flies commonly known as flesh flies. They differ from most flies in that they are ovoviviparous, opportunistically depositing hatched or hatching maggots instead of eggs on carrion, dung, decaying material, or op ...
in terms of body colour. The hind
femora
The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with t ...
are conspicuously enlarged and the hind
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
is often laterally flattened and broadened and with broad, excavated
vertex
Vertex, vertices or vertexes may refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics and computer science
*Vertex (geometry), a point where two or more curves, lines, or edges meet
*Vertex (computer graphics), a data structure that describes the position ...
.
Biology
The biology of ropalomerid flies is little known, although they are thought to associated with rotting wood.
Classification
The Ropalomeridae currently comprise about 30 species distributed in 9 genera. ''
Ropalomera'' is by far the largest genus of the family, with 15 known species.
These nine genera belong to the family Ropalomeridae:
* ''
Acrocephalomyia''
Ibáñez-Bernal & Hernández-Ortiz, 2012 g
* ''
Apophorhynchus''
Williston, 1895 c g
* ''
Dactylissa''
Fischer, 1932 c g
* ''
Kroeberia''
Linder, 1930 c g
* ''
Lenkokroeberia''
Prado, 1966 c g
* ''
Mexicoa''
Steyskal, 1947 i c g
* ''
Rhytidops''
Lindner, 1930 i c g b
* ''
Ropalomera''
Wiedemann, 1824 i c g
* ''
Willistoniella''
Mik, 1895 i c g
Data sources: i = ITIS,[ c = Catalogue of Life,][ g = GBIF,][ b = Bugguide.net]
Distribution
The Ropalomeridae are predominantly
Neotropical
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In bioge ...
, found from the southern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to northern
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, with a single species (''
Rhytidops floridensis'') known from the
Nearctic realm
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 ...
. Most species occur in the central portion of South America.
References
External links
Family Ropalomeridae at EOL bizarre sap flow fly - ''Rhytidops floridensis''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5320737
Brachycera families
Sciomyzoidea
Taxa named by Erwin Lindner