''Cheiromyia'' is a genus of

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

in the family

Dolichopodidae Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, are a large, cosmopolitan family of true flies with more than 8,000 described species in about 250 genera. The genus '' Dolichopus'' is the most speciose, with some 600 species. Dolichopodidae generally a ...

. It is found in the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropics, tropical Ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperat ...

. It was originally named ''Cheirocerus'' by

Octave Parent Abbé Octave Parent (15 June 1882, in Trescault – 9 February 1942, in Ambleteuse) was a French entomologist who specialized in Diptera, mostly the family Dolichopodidae. He became director of the Biological Station, Ambleteuse. He published thr ...

in 1930, but was renamed to ''Cheiromyia'' by C. E. Dyte in 1980 after it was found to be preoccupied by the catfish genus ''

Cheirocerus ''Cheirocerus'' is a genus of long-whiskered catfishes native to South America. Species There are currently three recognized species in this genus: * ''Cheirocerus abuelo'' (Leonard Peter Schultz, Schultz, 1944) * ''Cheirocerus eques'' Carl H. E ...

'' (Eigenmann, 1917). The antennae of the males bear one or more elongate projections on an enlarged postpedicel, resembling

antler Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) Family (biology), family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally fo ...

s. ''Cheiromyia'' is closely related to some species of '' Paraclius''.

Species

*'' Cheiromyia bicornis'' Brooks ''in'' Brooks, Cumming & Pollet, 2010 – Brazil *'' Cheiromyia brevitarsis'' Brooks ''in'' Brooks, Cumming & Pollet, 2010 – Colombia, Guyana, French Guiana, Brazil *'' Cheiromyia carolina'' Limeira-de-Oliveira & Brooks, 2018 – Brazil *'' Cheiromyia fuscipennis'' Pollet & Brooks, 2018 – French Guiana *'' Cheiromyia laselva'' Brooks ''in'' Brooks, Cumming & Pollet, 2010 – Costa Rica *'' Cheiromyia nordestina'' Limeira-de-Oliveira & Cumming, 2018 – Brazil *'' Cheiromyia palmaticornis'' (

Parent A parent is either the progenitor of a child or, in humans, it can refer to a caregiver or legal guardian, generally called an adoptive parent or step-parent. Parents who are progenitors are First-degree relative, first-degree relatives and have ...

, 1930) – Ecuador, Brazil, Suriname, French Guiana *'' Cheiromyia pennaticornus'' (

, 1931) – Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana ''Cheiromyia maculipennis'' (Van Duzee, 1934) was transferred to '' Paraclius'' in 2010.

References

Dolichopodinae Dolichopodidae genera Diptera of South America {{Dolichopodidae-stub