Hybotidae
| Hybotidae | |
|---|---|
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| Bicellaria spuria (Ocydromiinae: Bicellariini) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Suborder: | Brachycera |
| Superfamily: | Empidoidea |
| Family: | Hybotidae |
| Subfamilies | |
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Hybotidae, the typical dance flies, are a family of true flies. They belong to the superfamily Empidoidea and were formerly included in the Empididae as a subfamily.
Some, such as Tachydromia, are predators that run around on the bark of trees in complex pattern, hence the common name. Tachydromia species are only about three millimeters long.
The Hybotidae clearly form a lineage quite distinct from the Empididae. Among the Empidoidea, they represent a lineage more basal than the main radiation of Empididae and Dolichopodidae, though they are not as ancient as the genera placed in the Atelestidae.
By and large, the Hybotidae are monophyletic. Among its subfamilies, the Hybotinae and Tachydromiinae certainly represent clades. The status of the Ocydromiinae as a natural group is less clear, in particular whether the Trichininae should be included as tribe Trichinini or even in the Bicellariini or Oedaleini, or whether they are more distinct and warrant recognition as a separate subfamily.
The subfamilies with their tribes and selected genera are:
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Wikipedia