Axymyiidae
Protaxymyia thuja
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Nematocera
Infraorder: Axymyiomorpha
Family: Axymyiidae
Shannon, 1921
Genera and species

See text

The Nematoceran family Axymyiidae is the sole member of the infraorder Axymyiomorpha, though it is often included within the infraorder Bibionomorpha in older classifications. It is known from only nine species in four genera, plus eight fossil species.

Family characteristics

For the terms, see Morphology of Diptera.

The Axymyiidae have the general appearance of the Bibionidae. Unlike bibionids, axymyiids have four branches of the radial vein, Bibionidae have two or three.

The head is rounded. The eyes of the male are holoptic for a considerable distance and divided into a larger dorsal part consisting of large facets and (separated by a groove) a smaller ventral part of smaller facets. The eyes of the female are separated by a broad frons and consist of separated facets. The three ocelli are on a prominence. The antennae are short with 14 to 16 transverse segments which are covered with sparse, short hairs. The oral parts are reduced. The palpi are four- to five-segmented.

Wings have an ocellus. Wing-venation: The subcostal vein merges into the anterior alar margin near its midpoint; radial vein 1 reaches the distal quarter of wings, there usually fused with radial vein 2+3; radial vein 4 is branched proximal to the anterior crossvein of the wing. Median vein 1 and 2 have short trunks. The anal vein does not reach the alar margin.

The tibiae are slightly longer than the femora, but somewhat shorter than the tarsi. The empodium and pulvilli are well developed.

Biology

Larvae live in decomposing wood.

Genera

The family contains four extant genera and four extinct genera:[1][2][3][4][5]

References

  1. ^ Fitzgerald, S.J.; Wood, D.M. (2014). "A new species of Axymyiidae (Diptera) from western North America and a key to the Nearctic species". Zootaxa. 3857 (1): 101–113. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3857.1.4. PMID 25283098.
  2. ^ Zhang, J. (2010). "Two new genera and one new species of Jurassic Axymyiidae (Diptera: Nematocera), with revision and redescription of the extinct taxa". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 103 (4): 455–464. doi:10.1603/AN09073.
  3. ^ Sinclair, B.J. (2013). "Rediscovered at last: a new enigmatic genus of Axymyiidae (Diptera) from western North America". Zootaxa. 3682 (1): 143–150. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3682.1.7. PMID 25243280.
  4. ^ Shi, G.; Zhu, Y.; Shih, C.; Ren, D. (2013). "A new axymyiid genus with two new species from the Middle Jurassic of China (Diptera: Nematocera: Axymyiidae)". Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition). 87 (5): 1228–1234. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.12123. S2CID 84294698.
  5. ^ Blagoderov, V.A.; Lukashevich, E.D. (2013). "New Axymyiidae (Insecta: Diptera) from the Mesozoic of East Siberia". Polish Journal of Entomology. 82 (4): 257–271. doi:10.2478/v10200-012-0040-9.

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