Tipulidae is a family of large

crane flies A crane fly is any member of the dipteran superfamily Tipuloidea, which contains the living families Cylindrotomidae, Limoniidae, Pediciidae and Tipulidae, as well as several extinct families. "Winter crane flies", members of the family T ...

in the order

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...

. There are more than 30 genera and 4,200 described species in Tipulidae, common and widespread throughout the world. Nephrotoma P1210399a

A crane fly can be identified as a member of Tipulidae by its maxillary palps, which is the pair of appendages that hang down from the front of its head. If the fourth segment (the furthest from the body) of the maxillary palp is longer than the other three combined, then it is likely to be a member of Tipulidae. There are also usually 13 segments in the antennae of large crane flies, compared to 14 or 16 in the common limoniid crane flies. The oldest fossils that can be assigned confidently to Tipulidae ''sensu stricto'' are those of the genus '' Tipunia,'' which date to the

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time scale, geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic stratum, strata.Owen ...

Genera

These 39 genera belong to the family Tipulidae: * ''

Acracantha ''Acracantha'' is a genus of true crane fly. Distribution Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the i ...

'' Skuse, 1890 * '' Angarotipula'' Savchenko, 1961 * '' Austrotipula'' Alexander, 1920 * '' Brachypremna'' Osten Sacken, 1886 * '' Brithura'' Edwards, 1916 * '' Clytocosmus'' Skuse, 1890 * ''

Ctenophora Ctenophora (; : ctenophore ) is a phylum of marine invertebrates, commonly known as comb jellies, that inhabit sea waters worldwide. They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming (commonly referred to as "combs"), and they are ...

'' Meigen, 1803 * '' Dictenidia'' Brullé 1833 * '' Dolichopeza'' Curtis, 1825 * '' Elnoretta'' Alexander, 1929 * '' Euvaldiviana'' Alexander, 1981 * ''

Goniotipula ''Goniotipula'' is a genus of true crane fly. Distribution The ''Goniotipula'' is only found in South Africa. Species *'' G. cuneipennis'' Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is A ...

'' Alexander, 1921 * ''

Holorusia ''Holorusia'' is a genus of true crane fly, including the largest known crane fly species, '' Holorusia mikado''. Biology The larvae are aquatic. Distribution Asia & Australasia. Species *'' H. aberrans'' (Alexander, 1920) *'' H. agni'' Ale ...

'' Loew * ''

Hovapeza ''Hovapeza'' is a genus of true crane fly. Distribution Madagascar Species *'' H. costofuscata'' Alexander, 1958 *'' H. tisiphone'' (Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexand ...

'' Alexander, 1951 * '' Hovatipula'' Alexander, 1955 * '' Idiotipula'' Alexander, 1921 * '' Indotipula'' Edwards, 1931 * '' Ischnotoma'' Skuse, 1890 * '' Keiseromyia'' Alexander, 1963 * '' Leptotarsus'' Guerin-meneville, 1838 * '' Macgregoromyia'' Alexander, 1929 * '' Maekistocera'' Wiedemann, 1821 * '' Nephrotoma'' Meigen, 1803 (tiger crane flies) * '' Nigrotipula'' Hudson & Vane-Wright, 1969 * '' Orithea'' Meigen, 1800 * '' Ozodicera'' Macquart, 1834 * '' Phoroctenia'' Coquillett, 1910 * '' Platyphasia'' Skuse, 1890 * '' Prionocera'' Loew, 1844 * '' Prionota'' van der Wulp, 1885 * '' Pselliophora'' Osten-Sacken, 1887 * '' Ptilogyna'' Westwood, 1835 * '' Scamboneura'' Osten Sacken, 1882 * '' Sphaerionotus'' de Meijere, 1919 * ''

Tanyptera ''Tanyptera'' is a genus of true crane flies; its species are lustrous and black and yellow or red in color. They resemble some Ichneumonidae. Segments of the flagella of males have three outgrowths each (two lower paired and the upper one unpa ...

'' Latreille, 1804 * '' Tipula'' Linnaeus, 1758 * '' Tipulodina'' Enderlein, 1912 * '' Valdiviana'' Alexander, 1929 * '' Zelandotipula'' Alexander, 1922

References

External links

* Nematocera families Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille {{tipulidae-stub