Sciapodinae is a subfamily of flies in the family Dolichopodidae.[1][2][3] Members of the subfamily possess several ancestral characteristics of the family, such as branched vein M1+2 in the wings (though M2 is absent or reduced in Mesorhagini) and a pedunculate hypopygium. They also typically have a deeply excavated vertex, giving their heads the appearance of a dumbbell when viewed from the front.[4]
Members of Sciapodinae are most diverse in South America, sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, South-east Asia and Australasia. The subfamily is suggested to have originated during the Early Cretaceous on the supercontinent Gondwana, which is supported by vicariant distributions in the genera Heteropsilopus, Condylostylus and Parentia.[4]
^Grichanov, I. Ya (1999). A check list of Genera of the family Dolichopodidae (Diptera). Studia Dipterologica. pp. 327–332pp.
^D'Assis Fonseca, E.C.M. (1978). Dolichopodidae (Diptera, Orthorrhapha, Brachycera) (Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects 9/5). London: Royal Entomological Society of London. p. 90 pp.
^Yang, D.; Zhu, Y.; Wang, M.; Zhang, L. (2006). World Catalog of Dolichopodidae (Insecta: Diptera). Beijing: China Agricultural University Press. pp. 1–704. ISBN9787811171020.
^Grichanov, I. Y. (1996). "Bickelia (Diptera: Dolichopodidae), a new genus from Indian Ocean islands". Dipterological Research. 7 (2): 119–122. ISSN1021-1020.
^ abBickel, D. J. (2002). "The Sciapodinae of New Caledonia (Diptera: Dolichopodidae)". In Grandcolas, P.; Najt, J. (eds.). Zoologia Neocaledonica 5. Systématique et endémisme en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. Vol. 187. pp. 11–83. ISBN2-85653-179-2.
^Yang, D. (2001). "Diptera: Dolichopodidae". In Wu, H. & Pan, C. (eds.). Insects of Tianmushan National Nature Reserve (in Chinese and English). Beijing: Science Press. pp. 428–441.
^ abGrichanov, I. Y. (1996). "Afrotropical species of the genus Ethiosciapus Bickel (Diptera: Dolichopodidae)". Dipterological Research. 7 (3): 223–227. ISSN1021-1020.
^Grichanov, I. Y. (1997). "Giganosciapus (Diptera: Dolichopodidae), a new genus from tropical Africa". Dipterological Research. 8 (1): 79–83. ISSN1021-1020.
^Bickel, D. J. (2008). "Pouebo (Diptera: Dolichopodidae), a remarkable new genus from New Caledonia, with secondary symmetry in the male postabdomen". In Grandcolas, P. (ed.). Zoologia Neocaledonica 6. Biodiversity studies in New Caledonia. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. Vol. 197. pp. 49–55. ISBN978-2-85653-605-6.