Members of the Neriidae are long-legged flies closely related to the
Micropezidae, of which they were once considered a subfamily. There are
about 100 species in 20 genera distributed mainly in tropical regions. Only
22 species in 6 genera are recorded from the Australasian/Oceanian Regions.
Relatively little is known about their biology, but it is likely that the
larvae of most species are saprophagous and feed on decaying vegetable matter
(Olsen & Ryckman 1963, Ryckman & Olsen 1963). Telostylinus lineolatus has been described from larvae found in and under decaying bark on papaya
trees (Carica papaya) in Asia (Berg 1947) and has been observed in
the stems of the elephant bush (Portulacaria afra) in Hawaii (J.M.
Tenorio, pers. comm.).
The Neriidae have been variously divided into subfamilies and tribes (e.g.,
Enderlein, 1922b; Hennig, 1937; Aczél, 1954). However, none of the
proposed systems is very natural, hence a suprageneric classification has
not been adopted here.
Refs.: Hennig (1937, world rev.), Berg (1947, biol., immat. Telostylinus),
Aczél (1954, New Guinean spp.; 1959, Micronesian spp.), Steyskal
(1966b, Neriinae gen., Telostylus spp.).
CHAETONERIUS Hendel, 1903a: 205. Type species: Nerius inermis Schiner, 1868, orig. des.
inermis Schiner, 1868: 248 (Nerius). Nicobar Is; Indonesia
(Maluku);
Oriental Reg.
DEROCEPHALUS Enderlein, 1922b: 154. Type species: Derocephalus
angusticollis Enderlein, 1922, orig. des.
angusticollis Enderlein, 1922b: 154. Australia (Qld); Australia (NSW).
PARANERIUS Bigot, 1883a: 89 [1883b: lxvi]. Type species: Paranerius
mikii Bigot, 1883, mon.
fibulatus Enderlein, 1922b: 153. PNG (PNG); Indonesia (Irian Jaya).
mikii Bigot, 1883a: 89 [1883b: lxvi]. Indonesia (Irian Jaya).
RHOPTRUM Enderlein, 1922b: 141. Type species: Nerius annulipes Doleschall, 1857, orig. des.
annulipes Doleschall, 1857: 417 (Nerius). Indonesia (Maluku); Indonesia
(Irian Jaya), PNG (PNG).
TELOSTYLINUS Enderlein, 1922b: 142. Type species: Nerius lineolatus Wiedemann, 1830, orig. des.
dahli Enderlein, 1922b: 144. PNG (Bismarck Arch).
duplicatus Wiedemann, 1830a: 553 (Nerius). Indonesia (Java);
Indonesia (Maluku), PNG (PNG); Philippines.
gressitti Aczél, 1959: 53. Belau; Micronesia.
lineolatus Wiedemann, 1830a: 552 (Nerius). Indonesia (Java);
American Samoa, Australia (Qld), Cook Is, Fiji, French Polynesia (Austral
Is, Marquesas, Society Is), Hawaiian Is, Indonesia (Maluku), Kiribati (Line
Is), PNG (Bismarck Arch, Bougainville I, PNG), Solomon Is, Tonga, Vanuatu;
Sri Lanka, Thailand, SE to Indonesia.
longicoxa Thomson, 1869: 590 (Nerius). Northern Marianas;
Belau [immigrant], Marshall Is, Micronesia.
TELOSTYLUS Bigot, 1859b: 306. Type species: Telostylus binotatus Bigot, 1859, mon.
binotatus Bigot, 1859b: 306. Indonesia (Sulawesi); Indonesia (Irian
Jaya); "Borneo," Indonesia (Sumatra), Malaysia (Pen).