Sciaroidea is a

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

in the infraorder

Bibionomorpha The Bibionomorpha are an infraorder of the suborder Nematocera. One of its constituent families, the Anisopodidae, is the presumed sister taxon to the entire suborder Brachycera. Several of the remaining families in the infraorder (those shown wi ...

. There are about 16 families and more than 15,000 described species in Sciaroidea. Most of its constituent families are various

gnat A gnat () is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. They can be both biting and non-biting. Most often they fly in large num ...

Description

As nematoceran flies, sciaroid adults generally have long segmented antennae, while their larvae have a well-developed head and mouthparts. Aside from this, sciaroids vary in appearance. For example, Sciaridae adults have each eye extended dorsally to form an "eye bridge", a feature not found in related families. Cecidomyiidae adults have a distinctive reduced wing venation, while their larvae are atypical for nematoceran larvae in having a very small head capsule.

Ecology

Most fungus gnats (Sciaroidea excluding Cecidomyiidae) live in forests with their larvae occurring in fungi, dead wood and soil. There are some which live in wetlands such as

fens A fen is a type of wetland. Fen, Fenn, Fens, Fenns, may also refer to: People * Fen (name), a Chinese given name and surname * Fen Cresswell (1915–1966), New Zealand cricketer * Fen McDonald (1891–1915), Australian rules footballer * Kees ...

. Several genera of Sciaridae and Mycetophilidae may reach high abundances in damp buildings with wet organic matter. Some species of Sciaridae and Cecidomyiidae are among the rare Diptera that spend their entire lives in soil. These are

wingless The Wnt signaling pathways are a group of signal transduction pathways which begin with proteins that pass signals into a cell through cell surface receptors. The name Wnt is a portmanteau created from the names Wingless and Int-1. Wnt signaling p ...

as adults. Sciaroid larvae typically feed on

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

but there are some which form plant

galls Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...

(many Cecidomyiidae) or prey on other invertebrates (Keroplatidae).

Phylogeny

A 2016 molecular

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis confirmed that Sciaroidea is a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

group and should include both Cecidomyiidae and Ditomyiidae.

Families

These 16 families belong to the superfamily Sciaroidea: *

Bolitophilidae ''Bolitophila'' is the sole living genus in the Bolitophilidae, a family of Diptera in the superfamily Sciaroidea, with around 40 Palaearctic and about 20 Nearctic species, and three species from the Oriental region (Taiwan). They are small (6� ...

Cecidomyiidae Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls. Cecidomyiidae are very fragile small insects usu ...

– gall midges and wood midges, sometimes excluded from Sciaroidea *

Diadocidiidae The Diadocidiidae are a family of flies (Diptera), containing one extant genus with over 20 species and one extinct genus. Diadocidiidae are found worldwide, except in Africa and Antarctica. They are usually considered close to the Keroplatidae, B ...

Ditomyiidae The Ditomyiidae are a small (90 species) family of flies (Diptera).They are found worldwide (except in the Afrotropical Region), most species are found in the Australasian and Neotropical realms. There are only two genera in Europe '' Ditomyia'' W ...

Keroplatidae The Keroplatidae are a family of small flies known as fungus gnats. About 950 species are described, but the true number of species is undoubtedly much higher. They are generally forest dwellers found in the damp habitats favoured by their host ...

– predatory fungus gnats *

Lygistorrhinidae Lygistorrhinidae is a family of long-beaked fungus gnats in the order Diptera. There are about 7 genera and at least 30 described species in Lygistorrhinidae. Genera * †'' Archaeognoriste'' Blagoderov & Grimaldi, 2004 *''Asiorrhina'' Bl ...

– long-beaked fungus gnats *

Mycetophilidae The Mycetophilidae are a family of small flies, forming the bulk of those species known as fungus gnats. About 3000 described species are placed in 150 genera, but the true number of species is undoubtedly much higher. They are generally found ...

Rangomaramidae Rangomaramidae is a family of flies in the infraorder Bibionomorpha. The family, members of which are known as long-winged fungus gnats, was erected in 2002 by Jaschhof and Didham to include five new species of flies in the genus ''Rangomarama ...

– long-winged fungus gnats *

Sciaridae The Sciaridae are a family of flies, commonly known as dark-winged fungus gnats. Commonly found in moist environments, they are known to be a pest of mushroom farms and are commonly found in household plant pots. This is one of the least studie ...

– dark-winged fungus gnats * † Antefungivoridae * †

Archizelmiridae Archizelmiridae is an extinct family of flies, known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It belongs to the Sciaroidea, and has suggested to have a close relationship with Sciaridae. Genera * '' Archimelzira'' Grimaldi et al. 2003 New J ...

* † Eoditomyiidae * † Mesosciophilidae * † Paraxymyiidae * † Pleciofungivoridae * † Protopleciidae

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3952308

Sciaroidea Sciaroidea is a superfamily in the infraorder Bibionomorpha. There are about 16 families and more than 15,000 described species in Sciaroidea. Most of its constituent families are various gnats. Description As nematoceran flies, sciaroid adul ...

Diptera superfamilies