Athericidae
Taxonomy
This page represents the following TreeOfLife-200M taxonomic path.[1]
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Diptera
- Family: Athericidae
Visual Description
Athericidae, commonly known as water snipe flies, exhibit a range of morphological characteristics typical of the family. Based on observations of specimens, they are generally medium-sized flies with a robust body form. The wings often display distinct patterns or venation, and the legs are typically well-developed, sometimes appearing elongated or thickened in certain species. The overall coloration can vary, with some species exhibiting mottled or banded patterns on the abdomen and thorax, which may serve as camouflage in their natural habitats.[1]
Overview
The family Athericidae was established by Stuckenberg in 1973, incorporating several genera previously classified within Rhagionidae.[2] The family is considered monophyletic and is frequently identified as the sister-group to Tabanidae, supported by shared morphological characters such as elongated gonocoxal apodemes and long endophalic tines.
Distribution and Diversity
The family comprises 13 genera with a global distribution. Genera include Atherix, Suragina, Dasyomma, Atrichops, Ibisia, Pachybates, Trichacantha, Xeritha, Asuragina, Athericetes, Microphora, Succinatherix, and Suraginella.
Gallery
References
- 1 2 Dataset view for Animalia / Arthropoda / Insecta / Diptera / Athericidae constructed from imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M records under this taxonomic path. Hugging Face Datasets. https://huggingface.co/datasets/imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M.
- ↑ Charles Morphy D. Santos. Geographical distribution of Tabanomorpha (Diptera, Brachycera): Athericidae, Rhagionidae, Vermileonidae, and small families. EntomoBrasilis. 2008. https://doi.org/10.12741/ebrasilis.v1i3.25.