| Diptera | ||||||||
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Suborder Archidiptera
Infraorder Nymphomyiomorpha Nymphomyiidae Infraorder Dictyodipteromorpha extinct Superfamily Dictyodipteridea Dictyodipteridae - (Upper Triassic) Superfamily Hyperpolyneuridea Hyperpolyneuridae - (Upper Triassic) Superfamily Dyspolyneuridea Dyspolyneuridae - (Upper Triassic) Infraorder Diplopolyneuromorpha extinct Diplopolyneuridae - (Upper Triassic) Suborder Eudiptera Infraorder Deuterophlebiomorpha Deuterophlebiidae Infraorder Blephariceromorpha Blephariceridae Infraorder Tipulomorpha Superfamily Eopolyneuridea extinct Eopolyneuridae - (Upper Triassic) Musidoromimidae - (Upper Triassic) Superfamily Tipulodictyidea extinct Tipulodictyidae - (Upper Triassic) Superfamily Tanyderophryneidea extinct Tanyderophryneidae - (Middle Jurassic)
Family incertae sedis
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Diptera are insects in which the hind wings are reduced to halteres.
Beyond that considerable revision in the taxonomy of the flies has taken place since the introduction of modern cladistic techniques, and much remains uncertain. The secondary ranks between the sub-orders and the families are more out of practical considerations than out of any strict respect for phylogenetic classifications. (Modern cladists tend to spurn the use of any rank names.) Several of the classifications used now in this article remain paraphyletic groupings; this is particularly notable in the Orthorrapha.
When the taxobox was set up it was based on Rohdendorf's The Historical Development of Diptera because it happened to be convenient. Rohdendorf's approach was especially influenced by paleontological considerations, and this does not appear to be entirely suitable for dealing with living species. The current revision is based primarily on material on The Diptera Site, The Tree of Life Project and the Bishop Museum Catalog, with help from other sites when treatment by these sites were inconsistent or in conflict. As of 2003-08-14 that revision has been done for the Brachycera, and is being planned for the Nematocera whose presentation remains based on Rohdendorf. The symbol ¤ in the taxobox is transitional to indicate what part of the work has been completed.
Synonyms and common names
Flies, mosquitoes. In compound names containing "fly" for members of this order, the name is written as two words as in "crane fly". For insects that are members of other orders the name is written as a single word as in "butterfly".
Subdivision
There are two generally accepted sub-orders of diptera. The Nematocera are usually recognized by their elongated bodies and feathery antennae as represented by mosquitoes and crane flies. The Brachycera tend to have a more roundly proportioned body and very short antennae. Family names
The list below was originally created before the taxobox; families in the list below marked with a plus sign are extinct. Reconciliation of the names in it has progressed in conjunction with the revision of the taxobox. What remains after the revision is essentially a list of synonyms. Nematocera
Cyclorrhapha - Acalyptratae
Cyclorrhapha - Calyptratae
Cyclorrhapha - Aschiza
Higher level invalid names
References
As of 2003-08-14