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Family Chyromyidae

Male, Chyromyidae? - Gymnochiromyia nigrimana - male

Acalyptratae, swept from grasses/sedges/rushes - Aphaniosoma

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Diptera (Flies)

No Taxon ("Acalyptratae")

Superfamily Sphaeroceroidea

Family Chyromyidae

Explanation of Names

Chyromyidae Schiner 1863

Numbers

9 spp. in 3 genera in our area(1), ~140 spp. in 4 genera total(2). There are apparently 4 undescribed Nearctic species in Gymnochiromyia and 4 in Aphaniosoma(3).

Size

1-3 mm(1)

Range

mostly northern(1)

Habitat

larvae reared from bird nests, mammal burrows, rotting wood; adults on vegetation, those emerged from firewood often found on windows(1)

Remarks

A small but widely distributed group of rather uncommon flies(4)

Print References

Ebejer, M.J. 2009. A Revision of Afrotropical Chyromyidae (Excluding Gymnochiromyia Hendel) (Diptera: Schizophora), with the Recognition of Two Subfamilies and the Description of New Genera. African Invertebrates, 50(2): 321-434. (includes a key to world genera)

(5)

Works Cited

1.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.

2.	Order Diptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Zhang Z.-Q. (ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification... Pape T., Blagoderov V., Mostovski M.B. 2011. Zootaxa 3148: 222–229.

3.	Manual of Nearctic Diptera Volume 2 Varies for each chapter; edited by J.F. McAlpine, B.V. Petersen, G.E. Shewell, H.J. Teskey, J.R. Vockeroth, D.M. Wood. 1987. Research Branch Agriculture Canada.

4.	Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects Norman F. Johnson, Charles A. Triplehorn. 2004. Brooks Cole.

5.	A first account of Chyromyidae (Diptera: Acalyptratae) from continental Central and South America and some Caribbean Islands.... Ebejer, MJ. 2023. Zootaxa 5319 (3): 301–331.

Contributed by Tony on 12 April, 2007 - 7:51pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Keith Bayless, Bbarnd, v belov, James Bailey, Chris Angell
Last updated 24 January, 2025 - 8:50pm

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