''Prosphyracephala'' is a genus of flies in the family

Diopsidae Stalk-eyed flies are insects of the fly family Diopsidae. The family is distinguished from most other flies by most members of the family possessing "eyestalks": projections from the sides of the head with the eyes at the end. Some fly species fr ...

. The genus is presumed to be extinct, and is known from specimens in Baltic amber. Among

extant taxa Neontology is a part of biology that, in contrast to paleontology, studies and deals with living (or, more generally, '' recent'') organisms. It is the study of extant taxa (singular: extant taxon): taxa (such as species, genera and families) wit ...

, ''Prosphyracephala'' most closely resembles the genus ''

Sphyracephala ''Sphyracephala'' is a genus of stalk-eyed fly, flies in the family (biology), family Diopsidae, with records from Africa, Europe, Asia and N. America. Flies are commonly found on leaves and stem of trees and plants along streams and rivers. Ver ...

''. It was originally described as a species of the latter genus, but was recognized as distinct by

Willi Hennig Emil Hans Willi Hennig (20 April 1913 – 5 November 1976) was a German biologist and zoologist who is considered the founder of phylogenetic systematics, otherwise known as cladistics. In 1945 as a prisoner of war, Hennig began work on his th ...

in 1965.Kotrba, M. (2009): ''Prosphyracephala kerneggeri'' spec. nov. (Diptera, Diopsidae) – a new stalk-eyed fly from Baltic amber. – Spixiana 32/2: 187-192

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References

Diopsidae

† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species or languages). It is one of the mo ...

Prehistoric Diptera genera {{Diopsoidea-stub