Dolichopodidae
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| iDolichopodidae | ||||||||||
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| Image:Poecilobothrus nobilitatus01.jpg | ||||||||||
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| Diversity | ||||||||||
| ca. 200 genera | ||||||||||
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Dolichopodidae is a large family of flies with approximately 6500 described species in about 200 genera distributed worldwide. These are generally fairly small, metallic flies with large, prominent eyes but otherwise they show considerable variation: most have long legs but some do not. The males often have enlarged genitalia which can be useful for species recognition. The adults are predatory on other small animals.
The larvae occupy a wide range of habitats, both terrestrial and aquatic, and can be predators or scavengers.
Dolichopodids are well represented in amber deposits throughout the world and the group has clearly been well distributed since the Cretaceous at the latest.
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[edit] References
- Dolichopodidae home page
- [1] [2] - family descriptions
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