| Pediciidae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pedicia rivosa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Infraorder: | Tipulomorpha |
| Superfamily: | Tipuloidea |
| Family: | Pediciidae Osten-Sacken, 1859 |
| Subfamilies | |
The Pediciidae or hairy-eyed craneflies are a family of flies closely related to true crane flies, with about 500 species worldwide.
For terms see Morphology of Diptera.
Pediciidae are medium-sized to large (5 millimetres (0.20 in), Dicranota 35 millimetres (1.4 in), Pedicia ) flies which resemble Tipulidae. The wings, legs and abdomen are long and slender. Ocelli are absent. The eyes are pubescent; short erect hairs are present in between the eye facets (the eyes are usually glabrous in related families). The antenna have 12–17 segments. The thorax has a V-shaped transverse suture. The wing has two anal veins. The apical crossveins and M-Cu form an oblique line. The wings of Pedicia have contrasting brown longitudinal stripes.
The oldest fossils of the family date to the Jurassic. [1]
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 Trichoceridae, are sufficiently different from the typical crane flies of Tipuloidea to be excluded from the superfamily Tipuloidea, and are placed as their sister group within Tipulomorpha.
The Tipulomorpha are an infraorder of Nematocera, containing the crane flies, a very large group, and allied families.
Nannochoristidae is a family of scorpionflies with many unusual traits. It is a tiny, relict family with a single extant genus, Nannochorista, with eight species occurring in New Zealand, southeastern Australia, Tasmania, Argentina and Chile. Due to the group's distinctiveness from other scorpionflies, it is sometimes placed in its own order, the Nannomecoptera. Some studies have placed them as the closest living relatives of fleas. Most mecopteran larvae are eruciform, or shaped like caterpillars. Nannochoristid larvae, however, are elateriform, and have elongated and slender bodies. The larvae are aquatic, which is unique among mecopterans. The larvae are predatory, hunting on the beds of shallow streams, primarily on the larvae of aquatic Diptera like chironomids.
The Ptychopteridae, phantom crane flies, are a small family of nematocerous Diptera. Superficially similar in appearance to other "tipuloid" families, they lack the ocelli of the Trichoceridae, the five-branched radial vein of the Tanyderidae, and the two anal veins that reach the wing margins of the Tipulidae. They are usually allied with the Tanyderidae based on similarities of the mesonotal suture, this group being called the Ptychopteromorpha.
Limoniidae is the largest of four crane fly families, with more than 10,700 species in more than 150 genera. Some studies have suggested it to be a paraphyletic group, with some limoniids being more closely related to Tipulidae and Cylindrotomidae than to other limoniids. Limoniid crane flies can usually be distinguished by the way the wings are held at rest. Limoniids usually hold/fold the wings along the back of the body, whereas other crane flies usually hold them out at right angles. Snow flies such as Chionea scita have no wings at all. Limoniids are also usually smaller than other crane flies, with some exceptions.
The Chioneinae are a subfamily of limoniid crane flies.
The Perissommatidae are a family of flies (Diptera) that was proposed in 1962 by Donald Colless based on the species Perissomma fusca from Australia. The family now includes five extant species within the single genus Perissomma, four from Australia and one from Chile. The Perissommatidae are unusual as they appear to have four compound eyes. They have a small slender body less than 2 mm in length. Their wings are large in comparison to their bodies and subsequently their flight is weak. Preferring high-altitude forest environments, adults only fly in the winter. The larvae live in decaying leaf litter in wet sclerophyll or cool rain forests. Some species are suspected to be associated with fungi. In the case of Perissomma macalpinei, numbers of adults have been observed congregating in clumps of foliage and rising in short, zigzag flights in the sunlight above the foliage for short periods before descending.
Ctenophora is a genus of true crane flies. The species are large, shiny black craneflies with large yellow, orange, or red markings to mimic wasps. Males have comb-like antennae. The larvae are saproxylic. The species are confined to old deciduous forests, orchards, and other habitats with continuity of the presence of dying and fallen trees. Ctenophora species are important bioindicators.
Pilaria is a genus of crane flies in the family Limoniidae.
Pedicia is a genus of hairy-eyed craneflies.
The Pediciinae are a subfamily of flies in the family Pediciidae, closely related to Tipulidae. There are about 450 species worldwide.
Ula is a genus of crane flies in the family Pediciidae.
Nasiternella is a genus of hairy-eyed craneflies with a Holarctic distribution.
The Cylindrotomidae or long-bodied craneflies are a family of crane flies. More than 65 extant species in 9 genera occur worldwide. There are more than 20 extinct species.
Diogma is a genus of crane flies in the family Cylindrotomidae.
The Stibadocerinae are one of two subfamilies in the crane fly family Cylindrotomidae. Stibadocerinae has a total of 20 recorded species, found only in the southern hemisphere.
Macgregoromyia is a genus of true crane fly in the family Tipulidae.
The Ctenophorinae are a subfamily of Tipulidae, the true crane flies. Most species are large, colourful crane flies.
Limonia nubeculosa, also known as the short-palped cranefly, is a species of crane flies in the family of Limoniidae.