Culicomorpha
Encyclopedia
Culicomorpha is an infraorder of Nematocera
. It includes mosquito
es, black flies
, and several extant and extinct families of insect.
Extinct families
Nematocera
Nematocera , is a suborder of elongated flies with thin, segmented antennae and mostly aquatic larvae, consisting of the mosquitoes, crane flies, gnats, and midges....
. It includes mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
es, black flies
Black fly
A black fly is any member of the family Simuliidae of the Culicomorpha infraorder. They are related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and Thaumaleidae. There are over 1,800 known species of black flies . Most species belong to the immense genus Simulium...
, and several extant and extinct families of insect.
Classification
Extant families- Superfamily CulicoideaCulicoideaCulicoidea is a superfamily within the order Diptera. The following families are included within the Culicoidea:*Dixidae – meniscus midges*Corethrellidae – frog-biting midges*Chaoboridae – phantom midges*Culicidae – mosquitoes...
- DixidaeDixidaeThe Dixidae are a family of aquatic nematoceran Diptera. The larvae live in unpolluted, standing fresh waters, just beneath the surface film, usually amongst marginal aquatic vegetation .-External links:* Family description and image....
-meniscus midges - CorethrellidaeCorethrellidaeCorethrellidae is a family of parasitic midges, small flying insects belonging to the Order Diptera, that are commonly known to parasitize frogs. The members of the family are sometimes known as "frog-biting midges". The family currently consists of just two genera, totalling around ninety seven...
-frog biting midges - ChaoboridaeChaoboridaeChaoboridae, commonly known as phantom midges, are a family of fairly common midges with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are closely related to Corethrellidae and Chironomidae; the adults are differentiated through peculiarities in wing venation. If they eat at all, the adults feed on nectar. The...
-phantom midges - Culicidae -mosquitoes
- Dixidae
- Superfamily ChironomoideaChironomoideaChironomoidea is a superfamily within the order Diptera, suborder Nematocera, infraorder Culicomorpha. It contains the families Chironomidae, Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. One of the more important characters used to define this superfamily is the form of the larval mouthparts.-...
- ThaumaleidaeThaumaleidaeThaumaleidae, the solitary midges or trickle midges, are a group of nematoceran flies related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and the Simuliidae. They are small, stocky, yellow to brown flies . There are very few species known for this family...
-solitary midges - Simuliidae -black flies and buffalo gnats
- CeratopogonidaeCeratopogonidaeCeratopogonidae, or biting midges , are a family of small flies in the order Diptera...
-biting midges - ChironomidaeChironomidaeChironomidae are a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae...
-non-biting midges
- Thaumaleidae
Extinct families
- Asiochaoboridae (Upper JurassicJurassicThe Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
) - Architendipedidae (Upper Triassic)
- Protendipedidae (Middle Jurassic)
- Mesophantasmatidae (Middle Jurassic)