World Catalog and Conspectus on the Family Dryomyzidae (Diptera ...

WORLD CATALOG AND CONSPECTUS ON THE FAMILY DRYOMYZIDAE 211
characters: postocellar setae long, parallel or slightly divergent; antennal
bases approximate basally, narrowly separated; pedicel short, lacking a
complete dorsal seam; oral vibrissae absent; face uniformly sclerotized,
usually shallowly convex medially; clypeus large <strong>and</strong> prominent; greater
ampulla lacking; prosternum bare, strap-like, well separated from propleuron;
wing lacking costal spines; crossvein bm-cu aligned distinctly apical to
vein CuA 2 ; some or all tibiae bearing a preapical dorsal seta.
Biology. Two distinctly different biologies are demonstrated in the natural
history of this family. The larvae of Oedoparena Curran are predators of intertidal
barnacles (Burger et al. 1980, Suwa 1981) <strong>and</strong> are thus only known
from maritime coasts. The other genera, where information is available,
prefer humid environments such as forests where there is an under story of
shaded, low vegetation <strong>and</strong> where decaying organic matter is found. Larvae
in these habitats have been discovered to feed in rotting plants <strong>and</strong> fungi,
dead animals ranging from insects <strong>and</strong> mollusks to vertebrate carrion <strong>and</strong>
even in human excrement. The larvae are saprophagous, <strong>and</strong> females usually
lay eggs directly on the rotting food source.
Distribution. Species of Dryomyzidae are largely temperate in distribution
<strong>and</strong> thus far are exclusively known from the northern hemisphere. With the
exception of Oedoparena, which is strictly coastal in distribution, the other
genera occur most frequently in humid, forested habitats. Oedoparena is
only known from the cool, maritime coasts of the northern Pacific (Japan,
Pacific Northwest of North America), <strong>and</strong> the other extant genera of the
family are widespread across the Holarctic Region where their preferred
habitats are found. Only four species occur in the Oriental Region, <strong>and</strong>
these are found primarily in areas with temperate climates. As noted previously,
the family is noticeably lacking in the Afrotropical, Australasian, <strong>and</strong>
Neotropical Regions.
Table of extant genera
The following table lists the extant genera of Dryomyzidae in the order
found in the catalog, with a summary of the number of extant species
known from each zoogeographic region. The number in the total column is
less than the sum of those in each region as species are known from more
than one region.