Streblidae
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The Streblidae 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
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 ...
in the
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 ...
Hippoboscoidea Hippoboscoidea is a superfamily of the Calyptratae. The flies in this superfamily are blood-feeding obligate parasites of their hosts. Four families are often placed here: * Glossinidae - Tsetse flies * Hippoboscidae - Ked flies * Nycteribiidae ...
, and together with their relatives the
Nycteribiidae Nycteribiidae is a family of the true fly superfamily Hippoboscoidea are known as "bat flies", together with their close relatives the Streblidae. As the latter do not seem to be a monophyletic group, it is conceivable that bat flies cannot be u ...
, are known as bat flies. They are winged or wingless
ectoparasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...
s of
bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
s, and often have long legs. They appear to be host-specific, with different
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of bat flies occurring only on particular species of bat hosts, sometimes with multiple species of flies sharing a host bat.


Systematics

The 237 or so
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
are divided among roughly 33
genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
and five subfamilies. The monophyly of this family has not been supported. The streblid subfamily Trichobiinae may be more closely related to the Nycteriboscinae and other lineages in the
Nycteribiidae Nycteribiidae is a family of the true fly superfamily Hippoboscoidea are known as "bat flies", together with their close relatives the Streblidae. As the latter do not seem to be a monophyletic group, it is conceivable that bat flies cannot be u ...
. Several authors favor splitting the family into an
Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
lineage consisting of the Ascodipterinae and Nycteriboscinae and a
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
lineage containing all other subfamilies. The former would be named Ascodipterinae and the latter would retain the name Streblidae. Alternatively, the Streblidae and Nycteribiidae might be united as 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 ...
family containing all bat flies. Subfamilies are here listed in presumed order of most ancient to most recently
evolved Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
. Selected
genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
are also given, sorted alphabetically, as too little is known about their interrelationships. * Subfamily Brachytarsininae Speiser 1900 (sometimes Nycteriboscinae) :*Genus ''
Brachytarsina ''Brachytarsina'' is a genus of flies belonging to the family Streblidae. The species of this genus are found in Africa, Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australa ...
'' Macquart, 1851 :*Genus '' Megastrebla'' Maa, 1971 ::*Subgenus '' Aoroura'' ::*Subgenus '' Megastrebla'' Maa, 1971 :*Genus '' Raymondia'' Frauenfeld, 1855 :*Genus '' Raymondiodes'' Jobling, 1954 * Subfamily Ascodipterinae Monticelli 1898 :*Genus '' Ascodipteron'' Adensamer, 1896 :*Genus '' Maabella'' Hastriter & Bush, 2006 :*Genus '' Paraascodipteron'' Advani & Vazirani, 1981 * Subfamily Nycterophiliinae Wenzel, 1966 :*Genus '' Nycterophilia'' Ferris, 1916 :*Genus '' Phalconomus'' Wenzel, 1984 * Subfamily Streblinae Speiser, 1900 :*Genus '' Anastrebla'' Wenzel, 1966 :*Genus '' Metelasmus'' Coquillett, 1907 :*Genus '' Paraeuctenodes'' Pessôa & Guimarães, 1937 :*Genus '' Strebla'' Wiedemann, 1824 * Subfamily Trichobiinae Jobling, 1936 :*Genus '' Anatrichobius'' Wenzel, 1966 :*Genus '' Aspidoptera'' Coquillett, 1899 :*Genus '' Eldunnia'' Curran, 1934 :*Genus '' Exastinion'' Wenzel, 1966 :*Genus '' Joblingia'' Dybas & Wenzel, 1947 :*Genus '' Mastoptera'' Wenzel, 1966 :*Genus '' Megistopoda'' Macquart, 1852 :*Genus '' Megistapophysis'' Dick & Wenzel, 2006 :*Genus '' Neotrichobius'' Wenzel & Aitken, 1966 :*Genus '' Noctiliostrebla'' Wenzel, 1966 :*Genus '' Paradyschiria'' Speiser, 1900 :*Genus '' Parastrebla'' Wenzel, 1966 :*Genus '' Paratrichobius'' Costa Lima, 1921 :*Genus '' Pseudostrebla'' Costa Lima, 1921 :*Genus '' Speiseria'' Kessel, 1925 :*Genus '' Stizostrebla'' Jobling, 1939 :*Genus '' Synthesiostrebla'' Townsend, 1913 :*Genus '' Trichobioides'' Wenzel, 1966 :*Genus '' Trichobius'' Gervais, 1844 :*Genus '' Xenotrichobius'' Wenzel, 1976 * Subfamily ''incertae sedis'' :*†'' Enischnomyia'' Poinar & Brown, 2012


Morphology

One of the characteristic feature of streblid bat flies is their variable degree of eye reduction. The compound eyes are highly, but variably reduced, with some species containing only rudimentary eye spots. Ocelli are absent in all species. Wing morphology also significantly varies within the family with some species containing fully functional wings, while others contain either reduced (non functional or functional) wings or no wings at all.


Parasites

Streblid bat flies, which are
parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...
s, are themselves infested by
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 ...
of the order
Laboulbeniales The Laboulbeniales is an order of Fungi within the class Laboulbeniomycetes. They are also known by the colloquial name beetle hangers or labouls. The order includes around 2,325 species of obligate insect ectoparasites that produce cellular ...
; these fungi are thus
hyperparasite A hyperparasite, also known as a metaparasite, is a parasite whose host, often an insect, is also a parasite, often specifically a parasitoid. Hyperparasites are found mainly among the wasp-waisted Apocrita within the Hymenoptera, and in two othe ...
s.


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * Wenzel, R.L. & Tipton, V.J. (eds.) (1966): ''Ectoparasites of Panama''. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA. {{Taxonbar, from=Q143494 Ectoparasites Parasitic flies Parasites of bats Brachycera families Hippoboscoidea Taxa named by Friedrich August Rudolph Kolenati