Belongs within: Orthorrhapha.
Contains: Rhagionidae, Tabanidae.
The Tabanomorpha is a clade of flies united by the presence of a small lobe on the basal segment of the female cercus, and larvae capable of retracting their head into the thorax (Grimaldi & Engel 2005). Many members of this clade are predatory. A number of subgroups, including the Tabanidae, Athericidae and some members of the Spaniidae (previously classified with the Rhagionidae), feed on vertebrate blood (Grimaldi & Engel 2005). Other tabanomorphs include the wormlions of the genus Vermileo whose larvae construct pits like those of ant-lions that they use to capture prey. The Pelecorhynchidae are a group of moderate-sized to large flies whose predatory larvae are found in saturated soils in swamps and stream banks (Teskey 1981a). The Athericidae are medium-sized flies, often with patterned wings, with aquatic larvae mostly inhabiting rocky or gravelly areas of moving streams (Woodley 2009b). The possible stem-athericid Qiyia jurassica is known from larvae from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Formation of Inner Mongolia that possessed adaptations for ectoparasitism such as piercing mouthparts and a ventral sucker near the front of the thorax (Chen et al. 2014).
Tabanomorpha
|--+--RhagionidaeWT11
| `--Vermileonidae [Protobrachycerontidae, Vermileonoidea]WT11
| |--LampromyiaK09
| |--Protobrachyceron liasinumRJ93
| |--VermitigrisT81b
| | |--V. fairchildiO98
| | |--V. infasciatusO98
| | `--V. orientalisO98
| `--VermileoW09a
| |--V. comstockiW09a
| |--V. fascipennisW09a
| |--V. opacusT81b
| |--V. tibialisT81b
| `--V. willettiW09a
`--+--+--BolbomyiaWT11
| | |--B. macgillisiJT81
| | `--B. nanaWT11
| `--Spaniidae [Spaniinae]GE05
| |--Ptiolina majusculaK09, JT81
| |--Litoleptis alaskensisK09, JT81
| |--Spania nigraK09, JT81
| | |--S. n. nigraJT81
| | `--S. n. americanaJT81
| |--SymphoromyiaGE05
| | |--S. hirtaJT81
| | |--S. (Axinicera) inurbanaJT81
| | `--S. montanaM81
| `--ChrysopilusWT11
| |--C. ferruginosusO98
| |--C. flavibarbisK09
| |--C. gratiosusCM91
| |--C. ornatusK09
| |--C. proximusK09
| `--C. thoracicusWT11
`--+--BatganaGE05
|--ShulmasGE05
`--+--PelecorhynchidaeWT11
| |--Bequaertomyia jonesiT81a
| |--PseudoerinnaK09
| |--GlutopsK09
| | |--G. bandusT81a
| | |--G. rossiT81a
| | `--G. singularisWT11
| `--Pelecorhynchus Macq. 1850 [=Caenopnyga Thoms. 1868]R00
| |--*P. maculipennis Macq. 1850 [=*Caenopnyga maculipennis]R00
| |--P. aurantiacus Ricardo 1900R00
| |--P. darwini Ricardo 1900R00
| |--P. eristaloides (Walker 1848) [=Silvius eristaloides]R00
| |--P. fulvusCM91
| |--P. fusconiger (Walker 1848) [=Silvius fusconiger]R00
| `--P. personatus (Walker 1848) [=Silvius personatus; incl. P. ornatus Schiner 1866]R00
`--+--Oreoleptis [Oreoleptidae]WT11
| `--O. torrenticolaWT11
`--+--TabanidaeWT11
`--AthericidaeWT11
| i. s.: AtrichopsO98
|--Qiyia Chen, Wang et al. 2014CW14
| `--*Q. jurassica Chen, Wang et al. 2014CW14
`--+--Dasyomma [Dasyommatinae]W09b
`--AthericinaeW09b
|--XerithaW09b
|--SuraginaW09b
| |--S. concinnaW09b
| |--S. latipennisW09b
| `--S. longipesW09b
`--AtherixW09b
|--A. crassicornisR26
|--A. ibisO98
| |--A. i. ibisO98
| `--A. i. japonicaO98
|--A. lanthaW81
|--A. maculata [=Rhagio (Atherix) maculatus]G20
|--A. peringueyiS61
`--A. variegataW09b*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[CW14] Chen, J., B. Wang, M. S. Engel, T. Wappler, E. A. Jarzembowski, H. Zhang, X. Wang, X. Zheng & J. Rust. 2014. Extreme adaptations for aquatic ectoparasitism in a Jurassic fly larva. eLife 3: e02844.
[CM91] Colless, D. H., & D. K. McAlpine. 1991. Diptera (flies). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2nd ed. vol. 2 pp. 717–786. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).
[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.
[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.
[JT81] James, M. T., & W. J. Turner. 1981. Rhagionidae. In: McAlpine, J. F., B. V. Peterson, G. E. Shewell, H. J. Teskey, J. R. Vockeroth & D. S. Wood (eds) Manual of Nearctic Diptera vol. 1 pp. 483–488. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.
[K09] Kerr, P. H. 2009. Rhagionidae (snipe flies). In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera vol. 1 pp. 485–489. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.
[M81] McAlpine, J. F. 1981. Morphology and terminology—adults. In: McAlpine, J. F., B. V. Peterson, G. E. Shewell, H. J. Teskey, J. R. Vockeroth & D. S. Wood (eds) Manual of Nearctic Diptera vol. 1 pp. 9–63. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.
[O98] Oosterbroek, P. 1998. The Families of Diptera of the Malay Archipelago. Brill: Leiden.
[R00] Ricardo, G. 1900. Notes on the Pangoninae of the family Tabanidae in the British Museum collection. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 5: 97–121, pl. 1.
[R26] Risso, A. 1826. Histoire naturelle des principales productions de l’Europe méridionale et particulièrement de celles des environs de Nice et des Alpes maritimes vol. 5. F.-G. Levrault: Paris.
[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.
[S61] Stuckenberg, R. R. 1961. Diptera (Nematocera): Thaumaleidae. In: Hanström, B., P. Brinck & G. Rudebeck (eds) South African Animal Life: Results of the Lund University Expedition in 1950–1951 vol. 8 pp. 409–412. Almqvist & Wiksell: Uppsala.
[T81a] Teskey, H. J. 1981a. Pelecorhynchidae. In: McAlpine, J. F., B. V. Peterson, G. E. Shewell, H. J. Teskey, J. R. Vockeroth & D. S. Wood (eds) Manual of Nearctic Diptera vol. 1 pp. 459–461. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.
[T81b] Teskey, H. J. 1981b. Vermileonidae. In: McAlpine, J. F., B. V. Peterson, G. E. Shewell, H. J. Teskey, J. R. Vockeroth & D. S. Wood (eds) Manual of Nearctic Diptera vol. 1 pp. 529–532. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.
[W81] Webb, D. W. 1981. Athericidae. In: McAlpine, J. F., B. V. Peterson, G. E. Shewell, H. J. Teskey, J. R. Vockeroth & D. S. Wood (eds) Manual of Nearctic Diptera vol. 1 pp. 479–482. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.
[WT11] Wiegmann, B. M., M. D. Trautwein, I. S. Winkler, N. B. Barr, J.-W. Kim, C. Lambkin, M. A. Bertone, B. K. Cassel, K. M. Bayless, A. M. Heimberg, B. M. Wheeler, K. J. Peterson, T. Pape, B. J. Sinclair, J. H. Skevington, V. Blagoderov, J. Caravas, S. N. Kutty, U. Schmidt-Ott, G. E. Kampmeier, F. C. Thompson, D. A. Grimaldi, A. T. Beckenbach, G. W. Courtney, M. Friedrich, R. Meier & D. K. Yeates. 2011. Episodic radiations in the fly tree of life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 108 (14): 5690–5695.
[W09a] Woodley, N. E. 2009a. Vermileonidae (worm-lions). In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera vol. 1 pp. 481–483. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.
[W09b] Woodley, N. E. 2009b. Athericidae (athericid flies). In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera vol. 1 pp. 491–493. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.