Atelestidae
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| Family: | Atelestidae
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Atelestidae is a family of true flies in the superfamily Empidoidea. These four genera were placed in a separate family in 1983[1]. They were formerly either in Platypezidae or considered incertae cedis. But while they are doubtless the most basal of the living Empidoidea, the monophyly of the family is not fully proven[2]. The genus Nemedina seems to represent a most ancient lineage among the entire superfamily, while Meghyperus is probably not monophyletic in its present delimitation, and it is liable to be split up eventually, with some species being placed elsewhere[3].
Atelestidae are small (2-3 mm) greyish-dusted flies. They have a disjunct distribution, being found in both the Holarctic and southern Neotropical regions (Chile).
Footnotes
References
- Chvála, M. (1983): The Empidoidea (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. II. General Part. The families Hybotidae, Atelestidae and Microphoridae. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica 12: 1–279.
- Moulton, J.K. & Wiegmann, B.M. (2007): The phylogenetic relationships of flies in the superfamily Empidoidea (Insecta: Diptera). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 43(3): 701-713. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.02.029 (HTML abstract)
- Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) (2007): Atelestidae. Version of 2007-NOV-29. Retrieved 2008-JUL-30.
External Links
- Dipterists Forum
- Diptera.info Images.
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