Limoniidae

Limoniidae is the largest of four crane fly families, with more than 10,700 species in more than 150 genera. Some studies have suggested it to be a paraphyletic group, with some limoniids being more closely related to Tipulidae and Cylindrotomidae than to other limoniids.[1][2][3] Limoniid crane flies can usually be distinguished by the way the wings are held at rest. Limoniids usually hold/fold the wings along the back of the body, whereas other crane flies usually hold them out at right angles. Snow flies (genus: Chionea) such as Chionea scita have no wings at all.[4] Limoniids are also usually smaller than other crane flies, with some exceptions.[5]

Limoniidae
Temporal range:
Limonia nubeculosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Infraorder: Tipulomorpha
Superfamily: Tipuloidea
Family: Limoniidae
Diversity
ca. 150 genera

The classification of Limoniid crane flies has been varied in the past, with the group treated both as subfamily and family,[6] but the following classification is currently accepted.[7][8][9][10][11][12] (Species counts are approximate, and vary over time.)[9]. Recent phylogenetic analyses have revealed the family to be paraphyletic and further research is suggested.[1][7]

Family Limoniidae (Limoniid Crane Flies, more than 10,700 species)
Subfamily Chioneinae (4,324 species and subspecies)
Subfamily Dactylolabinae (59 species and subspecies)
Subfamily Limnophilinae (2,593 species and subspecies)
Subfamily Limoniinae (3,873 species and subspecies)
Subfamily †Architipulinae (extinct)
Subfamily †Drinosinae (extinct)
Subfamily †Eotipulinae (extinct)

These flies are found in damp places throughout the world, and many species form dense swarms in suitable habitats.

Description

For terms see Morphology of Diptera

Wing venation (Dicranomyia spp. and Dicranoptycha spp.)
Radio forks diagram

Limoniids are medium or small-sized, rarely large. The proboscis or rostrum lacks a beak. The apical segment of the maxillary palpi is short and never longer than subapical one. The antennae are, in most species, 14- or 16-segmented (rarely 6-, 10-, or 17-segmented), usually verticillate (whorls of trichia) and only exceptionally ctenidial or serrate (Rhipidia). There is a distinct V-shaped suture between the mesonotal prescutum and scutum (near the level of the wing bases). The wings are monochromatic or punctate and (in females more often than in males). sometimes shortened or reduced. The subcosta always fuses with the costa through Sc1. Radial vein R2 does not fuse with the costa, as in most other crane flies, but with radial vein R3. The radial sector Rs has one or two forks. Additional crossveins are sometimes present in cells r3 an1 and m. Cells m1 and d are often not present. The genitalia of males have large separated gonocoxis and one or two pairs of appendages which are sometimes greatly folded (Dicranomyia, etc.). The ovipositor of the female has sclerotized cerci.

Biology

Mostly, larvae are aquatic or semi-aquatic. In comparison, most other Tipuloidea larvae are terrestrial, though some are aquatic and found in huge numbers in lotic habitats like the limoniid larvae. Various species have evolved to feed on different food sources, so phytophagous, saprophagous, mycetophagous and predatory species occur.

Limoniids occupy a wide range of habitats and micro habitats: in earth rich in humus, in swamps and marshes, in leaf litter and in wet spots in woods (numerous genera and species); in soils with only moderate humus content along stream borders (Gonomyia Meigen, Rhabdomastix Skuse, Arctoconopa Alexander, Hesperoconopa Alexander); in dry to saturated decaying wood in streams, where the larvae feed on fungal mycelia (Gnophomyia Osten Sacken, Teucholabis Osten Sacken, Lipsothrix Loew); in decaying plant materials (various subgenera and species of Limonia), in woody and fleshy fungi (Limonia (Metalimnobia Matsumura); in fresh water, especially rapidly flowing streams (Antocha Osten Sacken, Hesperoconopa Alexander, Cryptolabis Osten Sacken); intertidal zones and brackish water (Limonia (Idioglochina Alexander, Limonia (Diuanomyia) Stephens); freshwater aquatic environment during the larval stage and nearby margin areas for pupation (Limonia Meigen, Thaumastoptera Mik, many Pediciini, Limnophilinae, and Eriopterini); steep cliff faces supporting a constantly wet film of algae (some species of Limonia Meigen, Orimarga Osten Sacken Elliptera Schiner); in moist to wet cushions of mosses or liverworts growing on rocks or earth (various species).[13][14]

Phantolabis lacustris was the first tipuloid species to be observed skating on the surface of water. It possesses morphological adaptations to allow for this phenomenon.[15]

Species lists

Evolution

Limoniids are not particularly common in amber deposits, but a few finds (e.g. Tipunia intermedia Krzeminski & Ansorge, 1995 from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen limestones) suggest the group has been extant since the Jurassic period.[16] Another specimen (Limonia dillonae) preserved in amber in the Raritan-Magothy Formation suggests limoniids have been extant since the Upper Cretaceous period.[17]

See also

References
  1. Petersen, Matthew J.; Bertone, Matthew A.; Wiegmann, Brian M.; Courtney, Gregory W. (2010). "Phylogenetic synthesis of morphological and molecular data reveals new insights into the higher-level classification of Tipuloidea (Diptera)". Systematic Entomology. 35 (3): 526–545. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00524.x. S2CID 86724439.
  2. Zhang, Xiao; Kang, Zehui; Mao, Meng; Li, Xuankun; Cameron, Stephen L.; Jong, Herman de; Wang, Mengqing; Yang, Ding (2016-06-24). O'Grady, Patrick (ed.). "Comparative Mt Genomics of the Tipuloidea (Diptera: Nematocera: Tipulomorpha) and Its Implications for the Phylogeny of the Tipulomorpha". PLOS ONE. 11 (6): e0158167. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1158167Z. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0158167. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4920351. PMID 27341029.
  3. Lukashevich, Elena D.; Ribeiro, Guilherme C. (2019-04-18). "Mesozoic fossils and the phylogeny of Tipulomorpha (Insecta: Diptera)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 17 (8): 635–652. doi:10.1080/14772019.2018.1448899. ISSN 1477-2019. S2CID 89966924.
  4. Byers, G. (1983). "Crane fly genus Chionea in North America". The University of Kansas Science Bulletin. 52 (6): 59–195.
  5. Watson, L. "Insects of Britain and Ireland: Diptera families - Limoniidae". www.delta-intkey.com. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  6. Alexander C.P., Byers G.W. (1981) Tipulidae. in: McAlpine J.F. et al. (Ed.), Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, pp. 153–1902 ISBN 0-660-10731-7 pdf Archived 2013-12-01 at the Wayback Machine download manual
  7. Zhang, Xiao; Kang, Zehui; Mao, Meng; Li, Xuankun; Cameron, Stephen L.; de Jong, Herman; Wang, Mengqing; Yang, Ding (2016). "Comparative Mt Genomics of the Tipuloidea (Diptera: Nematocera: Tipulomorpha) and Its Implications for the Phylogeny of the Tipulomorpha". PLOS ONE. 11 (6): e0158167. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1158167Z. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0158167. PMC 4920351. PMID 27341029.
  8. Kolcsár, L-P; Oosterbroek, P; Gavryushin, DI; Olsen, KM; et al. (2021). "Contribution to the knowledge of Limoniidae (Diptera: Tipuloidea): first records of 244 species from various European countries". Biodiversity Data Journal. 9: e67085. doi:10.3897/BDJ.9.e67085. PMC 9848614. PMID 36761998.
  9. Oosterbroek, Pjotr (2023). "Catalogue of the Craneflies of the World". Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  10. Zhang, Bing; Gao, Shang; Cao, Yike; Chang, Wencheng; Yang, Ding (2019). "The mitochondrial genome of Tipula (Formotipula) melanomera gracilispina (Diptera: Tipulidae)". Mitochondrial DNA Part B, Resources. 4: 240–241. doi:10.1080/23802359.2018.1546136. S2CID 92494741.
  11. "Tipulidae family Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  12. Kopeć, Katarzyna; Soszyńska-Maj, Agnieszka; Kania-Kłosok, Iwona; Coram, Robert A.; Krzemiński, Wiesław (2021). "Morphology of the oldest fossil subfamily of Limoniidae (Diptera, Architipulinae) in the light of exceptionally preserved Mesozoic material". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 24137. Bibcode:2021NatSR..1124137K. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-03350-4. PMC 8683464. PMID 34921169.
  13. Alexander C.P., Byers G.W. (1981) Tipulidae. in: McAlpine J.F. et al. (Ed.), Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, pp. 153–1902 ISBN 0660107317 pdf Archived 2013-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Ujvarosi, L., Poti T., 2006: Studies on the community structure of the Tipuloidea (Insecta, Diptera) assemblages of the După Luncă Marsh, Eastern Carpathians. Acta Biol. Debr. Oecol. Hung. 14: 253-262 pdf Archived 2014-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
  15. Bouchard, R. William; Gelhaus, Jon K. (1 March 2020). "First record of a skating crane fly: The unusual ecology, behavior, and morphology of Phantolabis lacustris (Alexander, 1938) (Diptera:Limoniidae) with descriptions of the immature stages". Freshwater Science. 39 (1): 86–100. doi:10.1086/707406. ISSN 2161-9549. S2CID 213549954.
  16. Krzeminski, Wieslaw (1995-01-01). "New Upper Jurassic Diptera (Limoniidae, Eoptychopteridae) from the Solnhofen Lithographic Limestone (Bavaria, Germany)". Stuttgart. Beitr. Naturk. B. 221: 1–6. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  17. Gelhaus, Jon K.; Johnson, Ralph (1996). "First Record of Crane Flies (Tipulidae: Limoniinae) in Upper Cretaceous Amber from New Jersey, U.S.A." Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 122 (1): 55–65. ISSN 0002-8320. JSTOR 25078603.
  18. Rohdendorf, B. 1974. The Historical Development of Diptera. Edmonton: Univ. Alberta.
  19. Savchenko, E. N. 1966. Phylogeny and systematics of the Tipulidae. Fauna Ukraini 14:63–88. In Russian.
  20. "Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC) Home". anic.csiro.au. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  21. Gullan, P. J., Cranston, P. S. 2014. The insects: an outline of entomology. 5th edition. West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell.
  22. Hennig, W. 1950. Die Larvenformen der Dipteren, Arb. 2. Berlin: Akad. Verlag.
  23. de Jong, Herman; Oosterbroek, Pjotr; Gelhaus, Jon; Reusch, Herbert; Young, Chen (2008). "Global diversity of crane flies (Insecta, Diptera: Tipulidea or Tipulidae sensu lato) in freshwater" (PDF). Hydrobiologia. 595 (1): 457–467. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9131-0. S2CID 34927837. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-11. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  24. Louise Moon (25 April 2018). "'World's biggest' mosquito with 11 cm wing span found in southwest China". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  25. Watson, L. and M. J. Dallwitz. 2003 onwards. Tipulidae. British Insects: The Families of Diptera. Version: 1 January 2012.
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  27. Conrow, Robert T.; Gelhaus, Jon K. (2022-05-01). "Wing interference patterns are consistent and sexually dimorphic in the four families of crane flies (Diptera, Tipuloidea)". ZooKeys (1080): 135–163. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1080.69060. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 8755705. PMID 35068968.
  28. Oosterbroek, P. Superfamily Tipuloidea, Family Tipulidae. Chapter 2 In: Evenhuis, N. L. (Ed.) Catalog of the Diptera of the Australasian and Oceanian Regions, Issue 86 of Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication. Apollo Press. 1989.
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