Eremoneura

Definition

A clade of true flies (Diptera: Brachycera) comprising the superfamily Empidoidea (dance flies and allies) and the infraorder Cyclorrhapha (higher flies including house flies, blow flies, and fruit flies). Eremoneura is sister to the Asilomorpha (robber flies and allies) within the Muscomorpha. The clade is diagnosed by derived larval features and supported by molecular phylogenetics; fossil evidence from Cretaceous amber (genus Chimeromyia, ~125 mya) documents the transition between empidoid and cyclorrhaphan morphologies.

Etymology

From Greek eremos (solitary, desert) + neuron (nerve, sinew), referring to the reduced larval head capsule and associated musculature characteristic of the group.

Example

The Eremoneura includes both the predatory dance flies (Empidoidea) and the diverse Cyclorrhapha, whose larvae range from saprophagous maggots to parasitoids; the extinct family Apystomyiidae appears to be a relict sister lineage to the Cyclorrhapha.

Related Terms

• Brachycera
• Muscomorpha
• Asilomorpha
• Empidoidea
• Cyclorrhapha
• Apystomyiidae
• clade
• holometabolous

Usage Notes

Eremoneura is a phylogenetic grouping rather than a formal Linnaean rank; it is sometimes referred to informally as the 'higher Brachycera' in contrast to the lower Brachycera (Tabanomorpha and Stratiomyomorpha). The composition is stable (Empidoidea + Cyclorrhapha), though the placement of the rare family Apystomyiidae has shifted between sister to Cyclorrhapha and sister to the entire Eremoneura in different analyses.