Brachycera

Definition

A suborder of Diptera (true flies) distinguished by short, bi- or tri-segmented antennae with reduced segmentation compared to the long, multi-segmented antennae of Nematocera. Brachycera comprises roughly 120 families and includes the vast majority of fly diversity—house flies, blow flies, robber flies, hover flies, and all other 'higher flies'—organized into several infraorders including Muscomorpha, Asilomorpha, Tabanomorpha, Stratiomyomorpha, Xylophagomorpha, and Vermileonomorpha.

Etymology

From Greek brachys ('short') + keras ('horn/antenna'), referring to the characteristically abbreviated antennae.

Example

Musca domestica (house fly) and Tabanus spp. (horse flies) are brachycerans, whereas mosquitoes and crane flies belong to the sister suborder Nematocera with their elongate, plumose or thread-like antennae.

Related Terms

• Nematocera
• Diptera
• Muscomorpha
• Cyclorrhapha
• Asilomorpha
• antenna
• Flagellum
• Arista

Usage Notes

Brachycera is a clade-level suborder, not a grade; its members share derived antennal reduction (typically 3 flagellomeres or fewer, often with a dorsal arista or style). The contrast with Nematocera is fundamental to dipteran classification and field identification. Some classifications treat 'Brachycera' as paraphyletic with respect to Cyclorrhapha, but the name remains standard for the suborder encompassing all non-nematoceran flies.