''Syringogaster'' is a genus of small (4 to 6 mm) ant-mimicking

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 ...

with a petiolate

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

, a long

prothorax The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ...

, a swollen and spiny hind

femur The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg. The Femo ...

, and reduced head size and large eyes. There are 20 described extant species and two species known from

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. It is the only genus in the family Syringogastridae.

Distribution

The genus ''Syringogaster'' are found in tropical areas of the

Neotropical 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 ...

region, with exception of the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

. Syringogastridae inhabit tropical forests.

Biology

Very little is known about the biology of Syringogastridae, and no

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 known.

Classification

The descriptor Ezra Townsend Cresson placed his new genus in the family

Psilidae The Psilidae are family of flies. Commonly called the rust flies, at least 38 species are in four genera. The carrot fly (''Chamaepsila rosae'') is a member of this group. They are found mainly in the Holarctic. Description For terms see Morpholo ...

then in 1969 Angelo Pires do Prado erected a new family (Syringogastridae) to contain the genus.Prado, A. P. do. 1969. Syringogastridae, uma nova familia de dipteros Acalyptratae, com a descricao de seis especies novas do genero Syringogaster Cresson. ''Studia Ent.'' (n.s.) 12:1-32.

Species

*'' S. amazonensis'' Prado, 1969 *'' S. apiculata'' Marshall & Buck, 2009 *'' S. atricalyx'' Marshall & Buck, 2009 *'' S. brachypecta'' Marshall & Buck, 2009 *'' S. brunnea'' Cresson, 1912: *'' S. brunneina'' Marshall & Buck, 2009 *'' S. carioca'' Prado, 1969 *'' S. craigi'' Grimaldi, 2009 (Fossil species) *'' S. cressoni'' Prado, 1969 *'' S. dactylopleura'' Marshall & Buck, 2009 *'' S. figurata'' Marshall & Buck, 2009 *'' S. lanei'' Prado, 1969 *'' S. lopesi'' Prado, 1969 *'' S. miocenecus'' Grimaldi, 2009 (Fossil species) *'' S. nigrithorax'' Marshall & Buck, 2009 *'' S. palenque'' Marshall & Buck, 2009 *'' S. papaveroi'' Prado, 1969 *'' S. plesioterga'' Marshall & Buck, 2009 *'' S. rufa'' Cresson, 1912 *'' S. sharkeyi'' Marshall & Buck, 2009 *'' S. subnearctica'' Feijen, 1989 *'' S. tenuipes'' Marshall & Buck, 2009

References

External links

Syringogaster at EOL
image Diopsoidea genera {{Diopsoidea-stub