RES Handbook Vol 9 Part 5. Diptera - Orthorrhapha Brachycera. Dolichopodidae

THE Dolichopodidae belong to the Brachycera section of the Orthorrhapha. The family is widely distributed throughout the major zoogeographical regions, and about 4,500 species have been described in some 130 genera. In 1890 Brauer proposed the superfamiiy name ORTHOGENA to include the two families Empididae and Dolichopodidae, and in 1935 Enderlein added the family Loncbopteridae to form a group which he named GEPHRONEURA, and which he proposed should receive the same status as the Nematocera and Brachycera. The grouping together of these three families to form a third division of the Diptera has not, however, been generally accepted and various other groups or superfamilies have been proposed over the subsequent years.