Canthyloscelidae

The Canthyloscelidae are a small family of midges closely related to the Scatopsidae.

Canthyloscelidae Temporal range: Middle Jurassic–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Suborder:	Nematocera
Infraorder:	Bibionomorpha
Superfamily:	Scatopsoidea
Family:	Canthyloscelidae Enderlein, 1912
Subfamilies
Canthyloscelinae
Synonyms
Canthyloscelididae Hyperoscelididae Synneuridae

Adults are small to medium-sized (2.5-9.0 mm) flies, relatively stout, usually dark coloured Nematocera with stout legs. They are associated with ancient woodland. Larvae are xylosaprophagous and live in the moist, rotting wood of stumps and fallen trees.^[1]

Most are considered endangered due to the vulnerability of their habitat.

Fifteen described species live in New Zealand, North America, South America, Japan and Russia, and one is known from the Jurassic fossil record.

Systematics

Originally considered to be two separate families, the Synneuridae and the Canthyloscelidae. Haenni ^[2] placed the Synneuridae as the subfamily Synneurinae. A phylogenetic reclassification by Amorim ^[3] has reduced the Synneurinae into a synonymy of Canthyloscelinae.

• Genus Canthyloscelis Edwards, 1922
  • Canthyloscelis antennata Edwards, 1922
  • Canthyloscelis apicata Edwards, 1934
  • Canthyloscelis balaena Hutson, 1977
  • Canthyloscelis brevicornis Nagatomi, 1983
  • Canthyloscelis claripennis Edwards, 1922
  • Canthyloscelis nigricoxa Edwards, 1922
  • Canthyloscelis pectinata Edwards, 1930
  • Canthyloscelis pectipennis Edwards, 1930
  • Canthyloscelis valdiviana Tollet, 1959
• Genus Exiliscelis Hutson 1977
  • Exiliscelis californiensis Hutson, 1977
• Genus Hyperoscelis Hardy & Nagatomi 1960
  • Hyperoscelis eximia (Boheman, 1858)
  • Hyperoscelis veternosa Mamaev & Krivosheina, 1969
• Genus † Prohyperoscelis Kovalev 1985 Itat Formation, Russia, Bathonian
  • Prohyperoscelis jurassicus † Kovalev, 1985
• Genus Synneuron Lundström 1910
  • Synneuron annulipes Lundström, 1910
  • Synneuron decipens Hutson, 1977
  • Synneuron sylvestre Mamaev & Krivosheina, 1969
  • †Synneuron eomontana Kishenehn Formation, USA, Eocene
  • †Synneuron jelli Koonwarra Fossil Bed, Australia, Aptian