This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations.(September 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Mythicomyiidae
Undescribed psiloderoidine genus from Australia
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Diptera
Suborder:
Brachycera
Infraorder:
Asilomorpha
Superfamily:
Asiloidea
Family:
Mythicomyiidae Melander , 1902
Subfamilies
Psiloderoidinae
Platypyginae
Glabellulinae
Empidideicinae
Leylaiyinae
Mythicomyiinae
Mythicomyiidae, commonly called mythicomyiids, are very tiny flies (0.5–5.0 mm) found throughout most parts of the world, especially desert and semi-desert regions, except the highest altitudes and latitudes. They are not as common in the tropics, but genera such as Cephalodromia and Platypygus are known from these regions. Many of these "microbombyliids" have a humpbacked thorax (as in the Acroceridae) and lack the dense vestiture common in the Bombyliidae. Mythicomyiids have until recently not had much attention in the literature. Their small size has caused them to be missed when collecting. Yellow pan trapping and fine-mesh netting in Malaise and aerial sweep nets has resulted in a number of undescribed species from many parts of the world. A high diversity of both genera and species exists for this family in Africa, especially northern and southern portions. About 350 species are known (most in the genus Mythicomyia Coquillett). Hundreds more await description.
Because of their extremely small size and curious body shapes, some genera have been at times placed in the Acroceridae or Empididae. Originally, taxa were placed in the subfamily Mythicomyiinae in the Empididae. Later, they were transferred to the Bombyliidae, where mythicomyiids have long been treated. Zaitzev (1991) was the first to give characters warranting raising the group to family level. Subsequent workers have followed Zaitzev's lead and treat the group as a separate family. The family is separated from the Bombyliidae by the unbranched wing vein R4+5 (branched in Bombyliidae), the extremely reduced or absent maxillary palpi (present in Bombyliidae), wings held together over the abdomen at rest (held at an angle in Bombyliidae), and the abdominal spiracles being placed in the terga (placed in the pleural membrane in Bombyliidae). Augmenting the morphological characters, it is also a much older lineage than any known Bombyliidae, dating from as far back as the Middle Jurassic (Palaeoplatypygus Kovalev; Callovian: 163–168 mya) with other genera known from the Cretaceous (Procyrtosia Hennig and Proplatypygus Zaitzev).
Mythicomyiidae, commonly called mythicomyiids, are very tiny flies (0.5–5.0 mm) found throughout most parts of the world, especially desert and semi-desert...
the genus Mythicomyia and several other minor genera in the family Mythicomyiidae, Yeates (1992, 1994) shifted the entire subfamily of Proratinae, with...
Carmenelectra is an extinct genus of fly belonging to the family Mythicomyiidae and containing a single species Carmenelectra shechisme. Carmenelectra...
Pieza is a genus of flies in the family Mythicomyiidae. Its species are found in North America, South America, and the West Indies. The genus was named...
Global Information
