Australasian/Oceanian Diptera Catalog -- Web Version

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49. Family SCIADOCERIDAE
By Neal L. Evenhuis

Sciadocerid flies are known from only 2 extant species (1 from eastern Australia and New Zealand, 1 from the Neotropical Region) and 4 fossil species, described from Fushun (China) and Baltic amber (see Hong 1981). Two species described from Canadian amber (McAlpine & Martin, 1966) have been transferred to the Phoridae (Hennig 1973). Sciadocerids are relatively small flies with a wing venation that is intermediate between that of Ironomyiidae and Phoridae. The biology and immature stages of

Sciadocera rufomaculata have been studied by Fuller (1934a). Tonnoir (1926b), Hennig (1964), and McAlpine & Martin (1966) gave good accounts of the distribution, phylogeny, and zoogeography of the family.
Refs.: Fuller (1934a, biol.), Papavero (1966, cat. Neotrop. spp.), Ferrar (1987, immat.), Disney (1988, phylog.).

Genus SCIADOCERA White

SCIADOCERA White, 1916b: 218. Type species: Sciadocera rufomaculataWhite, 1916, mon.
rufomaculata White, 1916b: 218. Australia (Tas); SE Australia, NZ (NZ).
     maculata, error for rufomaculata.
Last revised 27 August 1996