Rhagionidae or snipe flies are a small

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

. They get their name from the similarity of their often prominent

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a pr ...

that looks like the beak of a

snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/ camouflaging plumage. ''Gallinago'' snipe have a nearly ...

Description

Rhagionidae are medium-sized to large flies with slender bodies and stilt-like

legs A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element cap ...

. The mouthparts are

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

for piercing and many species are

haematophagous Hematophagy (sometimes spelled haematophagy or hematophagia) is the practice by certain animals of feeding on blood (from the Greek words αἷμα ' "blood" and φαγεῖν ' "to eat"). Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious ...

as adults, while others are

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

y on other insects. They are typically brown and yellow flies, and lack

bristle A bristle is a stiff hair or feather (natural or artificial), either on an animal, such as a pig, a plant, or on a tool such as a brush or broom. Synthetic types Synthetic materials such as nylon are also used to make bristles in items such as b ...

s. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e are also predatory and are mostly

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...

, although some are

aquatic Aquatic means relating to water; living in or near water or taking place in water; does not include groundwater, as "aquatic" implies an environment where plants and animals live. Aquatic(s) may also refer to: * Aquatic animal, either vertebrate ...

.Watson & Dallwitz Snipe flies in the genus '' Rhagio'' are sometimes called "down-looker" flies after their habit of perching head-downward on tree trunks.

Classification

The family is contained in

Brachycera The Brachycera are a suborder of the order Diptera. It is a major suborder consisting of around 120 families. Their most distinguishing characteristic is reduced antenna segmentation. Description A summary of the main physical characteristic ...

infraorder

Tabanomorpha The Brachyceran infraorder Tabanomorpha is a small group that consists primarily of two large families, the Tabanidae (horse and deer flies) and Rhagionidae (snipe flies), and an assortment of very small affiliated families, most of which have ...

, and several of its constituent groups have been recently elevated to family rank. '' Atherix'' (and related genera) now comprise the

Athericidae Athericidae is a small family of flies known as water snipe flies or ibis flies. They used to be placed in the family Rhagionidae, but were removed by Stuckenberg in 1973. They are now known to be more closely related to Tabanidae. Species of At ...

, '' Vermileo'' (and related genera) now comprise the Vermileonidae, and the genera '' Austroleptis'' and '' Bolbomyia'' are each now the sole members of their own families (

Austroleptidae ''Austroleptis'' is a genus of snipe flies, and the sole genus in the family Austroleptidae; until 2010, it was placed in the family Rhagionidae. They are small to moderately sized flies of around 3 to 7.7 mm. The family Austroleptidae was o ...

and

Bolbomyiidae ''Bolbomyia'' is a genus of snipe flies, and the sole genus in the family Bolbomyiidae; until 2010, it was placed in the family Rhagionidae. They are a small 2 to 3.5 mm, brown or black in color, with lightly infuscate (darkened) wings. They ...

List of subfamilies and genera

Arthrocerinae Williston, 1886 *'' Arthroceras'' Williston, 1886 -

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

Chrysopilinae Bezzi, 1903 *'' Chrysopilus'' Macquart, 1826 - Nearctic, Palearctic, Afrotropic, Neotropic,

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

*'' Schizella'' Bezzi, 1926 -

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

*'' Stylospania''

Frey Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especi ...

, 1954 -

Rhagioninae Latreille, 1802 *'' Arthroteles'' Bezzi, 1926 -

Afrotropic The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

*'' Atherimorpha'' White, 1914 -

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

Neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

, Afrotropic *'' Desmomyia'' Brunetti, 1912 - Palearctic, Oriental *'' Rhagio''

Fabricius Fabricius (, ) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *people from the Ancient Roman Fabricia gens, gens Fabricia: **Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the first of the Fabricii to move to Rome * Johann Goldsmid (1587–1616), known by his ...

, 1775 - Nearctic, Palearctic *'' Sierramyia'' Kerr, 2010 - Nearctic/Neotropic Spaniinae

, 1954 *'' Litoleptis'' Chillcott, 1963 - Nearctic, Oriental, Neotropic *'' Omphalophora''

Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany, it can also derive from th ...

, 1900 - Palearctic, Nearctic *'' Palaeoarthroteles'' Kovalev & Mostovski, 1997 *'' Ptiolina'' Staeger in Zetterstedt, 1842 - Nearctic, Palearctic *''

Spania Spania () was a Roman province, province of the Eastern Roman Empire from 552 until 624 in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It was established by the List of Byzantine emperors, Emperor Justinian I in an effort to res ...

'' Meigen, 1830 - Nearctic, Palearctic *'' Spaniopsis'' White, 1914 - Australasia *'' Symphoromyia''

Frauenfeld Frauenfeld (Alemannic German, Alemannic: ''Frauefäld'') is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Thurgau, Thurgau in Switzerland. The official language of Frauenfeld is (the Swiss variety of Standard) Swiss Standard Ge ...

, 1867 - Nearctic, Palearctic ''

Incertae sedis or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'' *'' Alloleptis'' Nagatomi & Saigusa in Nagatomi, 1982 -

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

References

* * * *

External links

*
''Rhagio mystaceus''
Rhagio diagnostic photographs * {{Authority control Brachycera families Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille

Description

Classification

List of subfamilies and genera

See also

Further reading

References

External links