Tabanomorpha

Definition

An infraorder of Brachyceran flies (Diptera) characterized by large eyes, stout bodies, and predatory or blood-feeding habits in adults. The group comprises primarily two large families—Tabanidae (horse and deer flies) and Rhagionidae (snipe flies)—along with several smaller affiliated families historically subsumed within Rhagionidae.

Etymology

From Tabanidae (type family, from Greek tabanos 'gadfly') + Greek morphe 'form, shape'

Example

The horse fly Tabanus bovinus and the snipe fly Rhagio scolopaceus represent the two dominant families within Tabanomorpha, both sharing the infraorder's diagnostic wing venation and larval aquatic or semiaquatic habitats.

Related Terms

• Brachycera
• Tabanidae
• Rhagionidae
• Diptera
• infraorder
• Xylophagomorpha
• Stratiomyomorpha

Usage Notes

As an infraorder, Tabanomorpha sits below suborder Brachycera and above family level. The composition has been unstable; several small families (Athericidae, Austroleptidae, Bolbomyiidae, Pelecorhynchidae) were formerly treated as subfamilies of Rhagionidae. Tabanomorpha is distinguished from sister infraorders Xylophagomorpha and Stratiomyomorpha by adult mouthpart structure and larval habitat preferences.