Richardiidae are a fairly small family of about 170 species in which living and fossil forms are restricted to the Western Hemisphere (almost all species are Neotropical) except one fossil species from the Isle of Wight. Little is known of the biologies of any of the members of the family. Adults of extant taxa have been collected at flowers. Larvae have been recorded as living in the flowers of some tropical families of plants and others have been recorded as damaging the growing tips of grass.

All the described forms of this family are from compression fossils. In addition to the described forms listed below, undetermined material of this family has been recorded from the Oligocene/Miocene amber of the Dominican Republic by Poinar (1992).

Ref.: Hendel (1911, catalog of world taxa).

PACHYSOMITES Cockerell, 1916c: 95. Type species: Pachysomites inermis Cockerell, 1916, by monotypy.
inermis Cockerell, 1916c: 95. NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].

STENOMYITES Cockerell, 1915c: 497. Type species: Stenomyites fuscipennis Cockerell, 1915, by monotypy.
fuscipennis Cockerell, 1915c: 497. PA: UK (England) (Eocene/Oligocene) [C].

URORTALIS Cockerell, 1917b: 379. Type species: Urortalis caudatus Cockerell, 1917, by original designation.
caudatus Cockerell, 1917b: 379. NE: USA (Oligocene) [C].