The Celyphidae, commonly known as beetle flies or beetle-backed flies, are a family 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 ...

(order Diptera). About 115

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 ...

in about 9 genera are known chiefly from the Oriental and

Afrotropic The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

biogeographic regions with one lineage in the New World.

Description

Celyphidae are small to medium-sized and easily recognised. The scutellum is enlarged, and forming a protective shell over the abdomen, giving them a beetle-like appearance. Also, like many beetles, Celyphidae are often shiny or metallic in color. The head has few bristles. The wings, when at rest, are folded beneath the scutellar "shell". The arista of the antenna is often flattened and leaf-like at the base. The family name is derived from the Greek word κέλυφος for pod or shell. Male celyphids lack an aedeagus and instead have paired gonapophyses that are used in copulation and are of key taxonomic value. Celyphidae Beetle fly

Biology

The biology of the family is poorly known. Adults are found along streams and rivers, and in wet, grassy areas. Larvae are

saprophagous Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ( ...

Relatives

The family Celyphidae is considered by most authors to be the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

of the Lauxaniidae (e.g., Griffiths 1972), and this has been supported by some molecular studies which suggest the (Chamaemyiidae + (Lauxaniidae + Celyphidae)) within the Lauxanoiodea. In the past they have occasionally been considered a specialized lineage within the Lauxaniidae.

Classification

*Genus '' Acelyphus'' Malloch, 1929 - Asia *Genus '' Atopocelyphus,'' Gaimari, 2017 - French Guiana *Genus '' Celyphus'' Dalman, 1818 - Africa and Asia **Subgenus '' Celyphus'' Dalman, 1818 - Asia **Subgenus '' Hemiglobus'' Frey, 1941 - Africa **Subgenus '' Paracelyphus''

Bigot Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...

, 1859 - Asia *Genus '' Chamaecelyphus'' Frey, 1941 - Africa *Genus '' Idiocelyphus'' Malloch, 1929 - Asia *Genus '' Oocelyphus'' Chen, 1949 - southern China *Genus '' Spaniocelyphus'' Hendel, 1914 - Africa and Asia

References

External links