Muscoidea is a
superfamily of flies in the subsection
Calyptratae
Calyptratae is a subsection of Schizophora in the insect order Diptera, commonly referred to as the calyptrate muscoids (or simply calyptrates). It consists of those flies which possess a calypter that covers the halteres, among which are some ...
. Muscoidea, with approximately 7000 described species, is nearly 5% of the known species level diversity of the
Diptera
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 advance ...
, the true flies. Most muscoid flies are
saprophagous,
coprophagous or
necrophagous as larvae, but some species are parasitic, predatory, or
phytophagous.
In September 2008, a study was done on the superfamily using both nucleic and mitochondrial
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
and the conclusion suggested that Muscoidea may actually be
paraphyletic
Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...
.
References
Diptera superfamilies
{{Muscoidea-stub