Celyphidae

Celyphidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Section: Schizophora
Subsection: Acalyptratae
Superfamily: Lauxanioidea
Family: Celyphidae

The Celyphidae, commonly known as beetle flies or beetle-backed flies, are a family of flies (order Diptera). About 90 species are known from the Oriental and Afrotropic biogeographic regions.

Description

Celyphidae are small to medium-sized and easily recognised. The scutellum is enlarged, 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 wings, when at rest, are folded beneath the scutellar "shell".

A live specimen from Shendurney Hills, Kerala, India

Biology

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

Relatives

The Celyphidae family is considered by some authors to be the sister taxon of the Lauxaniidae (e.g., Griffiths 1972), and has occasionally been considered a specialized lineage arising from within the lauxaniids. The most recent classifications place this as the sister taxon to the Eurychoromyiidae.[1]

Plate from Revue et Magasin de Zoologie 1859 depicting Celyphus hyacinthus

Classification

References

  1. ↑ Lauxanioidea Tree of Life Web Project
  2. 1 2 Tenorio, JoAnn M. (1969). "A Revision of the Celyphidae (DIPTERA) From the Philippine Islands". Pacific Insects. Hawaii Biological Survey. 11 (3-4): 579–611.

Further reading

Data related to Celyphidae at Wikispecies

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Celyphidae.
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