The family Anisopodidae is a primitive group consisting of small to moderately
sized flies (2 to 18 mm) with narrow, elongate bodies and long, slender
legs. The head has 3 ocelli in both sexes and moderately long antennae.
The wings often show patterns of dark markings. Adults can be found near
larval habitats and in other moist places, near the edges of woods and forested
areas, and often on slime fluxes of wounded trees. Males form mating swarms
and females oviposit on almost any moist surface. The amphipneustic larvae
are slender, fusiform, and vary from ca. 10 to 20 mm in length. They are
saprophagous and occur in moist, decaying, or fermenting organic matter.
Larvae of Sylvicola have been reported in cases of intestinal and
urinogenital myiasis (see Smith & Taylor 1966, Morris 1968). Pupation
occurs in the larval habitats without the formation of a cocoon. Pharate
adults actively wriggle to the surface for emergence.
This family has had an unsettled history both taxonomically and nomenclaturally.
Some of its species have been assigned to various families including the
Tipulidae, Bibionidae, and Mycetophilidae, it has contained species now
assigned to other families, and some of its current species have previously
appeared under 1 or more of 5 family names. Valseguya has recently (Amorim & Grimaldi 2006) been removed to its own family, Valseguyidae.
The Anisopodidae, although a small family, are widely distributed. The family
consists of 6 genera with ca. 100 described species in the world fauna.
Five genera and 15 species have been described from the area covered by
this catalog. A number of additional species from the area remain unidentified
or undescribed (Osten Sacken 1881a; Edwards 1928d; Joyce 1959; Colless &
McAlpine 1970; Macfarlane 1979; Colless, pers. comm.). Pratt & Pratt
(1980) divided the 5 North American species of Sylvicola into 2 subgenera, Sylvicola and Anisopus. A modern revisionary study is needed
to determine if the species of Sylvicola listed in this catalog should
be assigned to one or both of these subgenera.
Refs.: Malloch (1917, immat.), Keilin (1919, immat.), Keilin in Edwards (1928a, immat.), Keilin & Tate (1940, immat.), Pedersen (1968,
immat.), Peterson (1981, rev. Nearctic gen.).
OLBIOGASTER Osten Sacken, 1886: 20. Type species: Olbiogaster
cognatus Osten Sacken, 1886, des. Sharp, 1887: 302.
insularis Tonnoir, 1923b: 504. Lord Howe I.
SYLVICOLA Harris, 1780: 100. Type species: Sylvicola brevis Harris, 1780 [= Tipula fenestralis Scopoli, 1763], des. Coquillett,
1910: 610.
PHYRNE Meigen, 1800: 16. Suppressed by I.C.Z.N., 1963b: 339.
ANISOPUS Meigen, 1803: 264. Type species: Anisopus fuscus Meigen, 1804 [= Tipula fuscata Fabricius, 1775], des. Coquillett,
1910: 507.
RHYPHUS Latreille, 1804: 188. Type species: Tipula fenestralis Scopoli 1763 (as "fenestrarum"), mon.
cinctus Fabricius, 1787: 333 (Rhagio). West Germany; Hawaiian
Is; Canary Is, St. Helena, Europe, N. Africa.
succinctus Gmelin, 1790: 2866 (Musca; unjust. n. n. for cinctus Fabricius).
dubius Macquart, 1850: 408(104) (Chrysopyla). Australia, "côte
orientale"; widesp. Australia.
brevis Walker, 1856d: 449 (Rhyphus). Australia (Tas). [Preocc.
Harris, 1780.]
festivus Edwards, 1928d: 17 (Anisopus). NZ (NZ).
funebris Fuller, 1935: 295 (Anisopus). Australia (Vic).
hellwigi de Meijere, 1913b: 315 (Rhyphus). Indonesia (Irian
Jaya); PNG (PNG); Indonesia (Java).
maculipennis Wulp, 1885a: 14 (Rhyphus). Indonesia (Java);
Indonesia (Maluku); Oriental Reg.
neozelandicus Schiner, 1868: 49 (Rhyphus). NZ (NZ); Australia
(SA, Tas, Vic), NZ (Auckland Is).
phaleratus Walker, 1848: 124 (Rhyphus). Nomen nudum.
phaleratus Hutton, 1874: 165 (Rhyphus). Nomen nudum.
phaleratus Kirby, 1884a: 269 (Rhyphus). Not given [NZ].
notatus Hutton, 1902b: 191 (Rhyphus). NZ (NZ); NZ (Auckland
Is).
undulatus Lamb, 1909: 131 (Rhyphus). NZ (Auckland Is); NZ
(NZ).
MESOCHRIA Enderlein, 1910b: 65. Type species: Mesochria scottiana Enderlein, 1910, orig. des.
buxtoniana Edwards, 1928c: 40. Western Samoa.
schlingeri Thompson, 2006: 15. Fiji.
vulgaris Thompson, 2006: 17. Fiji.
MYCETOBIA Meigen, 1818: 229. Type species: Mycetobia pallipes Meigen, 1818, des. Westwood, 1840: 127.
neocaledonica Baylac & Matile, 1988: 85. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
scutellaris Baylac & Matile, 1988: 86. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
seguyi Baylac & Matile, 1990: 355. New Caledonia (New Caledonia).