Opetiidae Explained

The Opetiidae is a family of true flies of the superfamily Platypezoidea, one of two families commonly called flat-footed flies.^[1] The family contains only five extant species in two genera, Opetia from the Palearctic region and Puyehuemyia from Chile in South America. Several fossil genera have been assigned to the family, but many of these are likely to belong elsewhere in the Platypezoidea. Lonchopterites from the Early Cretaceous Lebanese amber and Electrosania from the Late Cretaceous New Jersey amber seem likely to be closely related to modern opetiids.^[2]

Family description

See http://delta-intkey.com/britin/dip/www/opetiida.htm

Classification

Opetiidae was formerly in Platypezidae.

• †Lithopetia Zhang, 1987^[3]
  • †Lithopetia hirsuta Zhang, 1987^[3]
• Opetia Meigen, 1830^[4] Palearctic, Oligocene-Recent
  • Opetia aberrans Shatalkin, 1985^[5]
  • Opetia alticola Saigusa, 1963^[6]
  • Opetia anomalipennis Saigusa, 1963
  • †Opetia atra Statz, 1940^[7] Rott Formation, Germany, Oligocene
  • Opetia nigra Meigen, 1830
• †Opetiala Coram, Jarzembowski & Mostovski, 2000^[8]

• †Opetiala shatalkini Coram, Jarzembowski & Mostovski, 2000^[8]
• †Oppenheimiella Meunier, 1893^[9]

• †Oppenheimiella baltica Meunier, 1893^[9]
• †Pseudopetia Zhang, 1987^[3]

• †Pseudopetia exilis Zhang, 1987^[3]

• †Pseudopetia grandis Zhang, 1987^[3]
• Puyehuemyia Amorim et al, 2018^[2] Chile, Recent

• Puyehuemyia chandleri Amorim et al, 2018

Images

Diptera.info

Notes and References

1. Book: Chandler. P.J.. Flat-Footed Flies: (Diptera Opetiidae and Platypezidae) of Europe. 2001. Brill Academic Pub. 978-9004120235. 1–278. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica 36.
2. Amorim . Dalton de Souza . Silva . Vera Cristina . Brown . Brian Victor . Puyehuemyia chandleri, gen. nov., sp. nov. (Diptera, Opetiidae) : remnant of a Cretaceous biota in Chile. . American Museum Novitates . 3892 . 21 February 2018 . 1–27 . 10.1206/3892.1 . 2246/6845. 90294385 . free .
3. Zhang. J.-F.. Four new genera of Platypezidae. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 1987. 26. 595–603.
4. Meigen. J. W.. Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europaischen zweiflugeligen Insekten. Sechster Theil. Schulz, Hamm.. 1830. xi + 401 +[3].
5. Shatalkin. A. I.. A survey of Platypezidae (Diptera) of the USSR fauna. Sbornik Trud. Zool. Muz. MGU. 1985. 23. 69–136.
6. Saigusa. T.. Systematic studies of Japanese Platypezidae. I. Genus Opetia Meigen.. Sieboldia. 1963. 3. 105–108.
7. Statz. G.. Neue Dipteren (Brachycera et Cyclorrhapha) aus dem Oberoligozan von Rott.. Palaeontographica A. 1940. 91. 120–174, pl. 19–27.
8. Coram. R.. Jarzembowski. E. A.. Mostovski. M. B.. Two rare eremoneuran flies (Diptera: Empididae and Opetiidae) from the Purbeck Limestone group. Paleontol. J. . 2000. 34. Suppl. 3. 370–373.
9. Meunier. F.. Note sur les Platypezidae de l'ambre tertiaire. Bull. Soc. Zool. France. 1893. 18. 230–234.