Phoridae

Conicera tibialis, from here.

Belongs within: Platypezoidea.
Contains: Metopininae, Phorinae.

The Phoridae, scuttle flies, are a group of small hump-backed flies of diverse habits. Winged species are readily distinguished by the characteristic venation of their wings, with four or five veins (corresponding to the M and R veins) running obliquely across the main body of the wing. The branches of the R vein are strongly thickened relative to the posterior veins; in Sciadocerinae R₄₊₅ approaches the apex of the wing but in members of the clade Euphorida the R veins are all placed close to the wings base. Classification within the Euphorida remains uncertain; the majority of species have been divided between two subfamilies Metopininae and Phorinae, but the phylogenetic accuracy of this division requires investigation. The Holarctic genus Aenigmatias differs from other phorids in the dorsal position of the anterior thoracic spiracle; males are winged but females are wingless and cockroach-like in appearance (Peterson 1987).

Characters (from McAlpine 1990): Small humpbacked flies, 1-4 mm long. Ptilinal fissure and lunule absent. Wing rounded at apex, with radiating venation: branches of R strongly thickened and crowded into anterior base, four other weak and peculiarly aligned veins in remainder of wing blade; C ending near middle of anterior margin.

<==Phoridae [Phoromorpha]
    |--Sciadocerinae [Sciadoceridae] B10
    |    |--Sciadocera rufomaculata WT11
    |    |--Sciadophora bostoni McAlpine & Martin 1966 P92
    |    |--Eosciadocera Hong 1981 H02
    |    |    `--*E. helodis Hong 1981 H02
    |    |--Archisciada Grimaldi & Cumming 1999 GC99
    |    |    `--*A. lebanensis Grimaldi & Cumming 1999 GC99
    |    `--Archiphora Schmitz 1929 GC99
    |         |--A. pria Grimaldi & Cumming 1999 GC99
    |         `--+--*A. patagonica (Schmitz 1929) GC99
    |            `--A. robusta (Meunier 1917) GC99
    `--+--Prioriphora McAlpine & Martin 1966 [Prioriphorinae] GC99
       |    |--*P. canadambra McAlpine & Martin 1966 GC99
       |    |--P. casei Grimaldi & Cumming 1999 GC99
       |    |--P. intermedia GC99
       |    |--P. longicostalis GC99
       |    |--P. luzzii Grimaldi & Cumming 1999 GC99
       |    |--P. polyanka Mostovsky 1996 GC99
       |    `--P. setifemoralis GC99
       `--Euphorida B10
            |--Metopininae B10
            |--Phorinae B10
            |--Aenigmatias P87 [incl. Platyphora A71; Aenigmatiinae B10]
            |    `--A. eurynotus P87
            |--Hypocera [Hypocerinae] B10
            |    `--H. erhmanni B10
            `--Conicera [Conicerinae] B10
                 |--C. (Conicera) dauci P87
                 `--C. tibialis B10

Phoridae incertae sedis:
  Aphiura treviceps M83
  Thaumatoxena GE05
  Euliphora grimaldii GE05
  Cryptopteromyia jeanssoni S94
  Johowia B10
  Pseudohypocera kerteszi B10
  *Macrocerides curtifrons B10
  Ceratusa crinicornis B10
  Apterophora B10
  Eurycnemis alvarengai B10
  Latiborophaga B10
  Trineurocephala B10
  Chaetocnemistoptera B10
  Gymnoptera simplex B10
  Tapantia bicasa B10
  Neopleurophora B10
  Enderleinphora B10
    |--E. fuscohalterata [=Beckerina fuscohalterata] B10
    `--E. hansoni B10
  Brownphora sinefurca [=Beckerina sinefurca] B10
  Chaetaspidia convexifrons B10
  Cootiphora angustata B10
  Phymatopterella B10
    |--P. luteiclava B10
    `--P. miristigma [=Megaselia miristigma] B10
  Calamiscus cryptopalpis B10
  Acanthophorides B10
  Brachycephaloptera trichopleura B10
  Neophora frontalis B10
  Tabelliphora teretipenna B10
  Borgmeieriphora multisetosa B10
  Laciniomyia dilata B10
  Apodicrania B10
    |--A. molinai B10
    `--A. termitophila B10
  Myriophora B10
  Synclinusa B10
  Menozziola B10
  Dacnophora B10
  Laishania angustithorax B10
  Paurophora borgmeieri B10
  Eremophora hyalina B10
  Platydipteron balli B10
  Dinocercus caudatus B10
  Styletta crocea B10
  Dahliphora B10
  Allochaeta B10
  Travassophora plaumanni B10
  Cyphocephalus caviceps B10
  Homalophora B10
  Adelopteromyia B10
  Apterella molliventris B10
  Zikania schmidti B10
  Placophorina obtecta B10
  Holopterina longipalpis B10
    |--H. l. longipalpis B10
    `--H. l. sedula B10
  Thalloptera B10
  Veruanus B10
  Microselia texana P87
  Termitoxenia RD77 [Termitoxeniinae O98]
  Plectanocnema Schmitz 1926 B96
    `--P. nudipes (Becker 1901) B96
  Wandolleckia PB27
  Termitomyia RD77
  Ptochomyia RD77
  Aneurina caliginosa [incl. Phora urbana] RD77
  Electrophora P92
  Hypoceridites P92
  Protophorites P92
  Protoplatyphora P92
  Stephanostoriscus P92

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A71] Askew, R. R. 1971. Parasitic Insects. Heinemann Educational Books: London.

[B96] Brown, B. V. 1996. First record of the genus Plectanocnema Schmitz in North America (Diptera: Phoridae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 98 (3): 608–609.

[B10] Brown, B. V. 2010. Phoridae (hump-backed flies, scuttle flies). In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera vol. 2 pp. 725–761. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.

[GC99] Grimaldi, D., & J. Cumming. 1999. Brachyceran Diptera in Cretaceous ambers and Mesozoic diversification of the Eremoneura. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 239: 1–124.

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[H02] Hong Y. 2002. Amber Insect of China. Beijing Scientific and Technological Publishing House.

[M83] Martin, N. A. 1983. Miscellaneous observations on a pasture fauna: an annotated species list. DSIR Entomology Division Report 3: 1–98.

[O98] Oosterbroek, P. 1998. The Families of Diptera of the Malay Archipelago. Brill: Leiden.

[P87] Peterson, B. V. 1987. Phoridae. In: McAlpine, J. F. (ed.) Manual of Nearctic Diptera vol. 2 pp. 689–712. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.

[PB27] Pilsbry, H. A., & J. Bequaert. 1927. The aquatic mollusks of the Belgian Congo, with a geographical and ecological account of Congo malacology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 53 (2): 69–602, pls 10–77.

[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[S94] Southcott, R. V. 1994. Revision of the larvae of the Microtrombidiinae (Acarina, Microtrombidiidae), with notes on life histories. Zoologica 48 (2): 1–155.

[WT11] Wiegmann, B. M., M. D. Trautwein, I. S. Winkler, N. B. Barr, J.-W. Kim, C. Lambkin, M. A. Bertone, B. K. Cassel, K. M. Bayless, A. M. Heimberg, B. M. Wheeler, K. J. Peterson, T. Pape, B. J. Sinclair, J. H. Skevington, V. Blagoderov, J. Caravas, S. N. Kutty, U. Schmidt-Ott, G. E. Kampmeier, F. C. Thompson, D. A. Grimaldi, A. T. Beckenbach, G. W. Courtney, M. Friedrich, R. Meier & D. K. Yeates. 2011. Episodic radiations in the fly tree of life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 108 (14): 5690–5695.

Last updated: 14 July 2021.