Family PLECIIDAE
Compiler and date details
2011 - Updated by Judy King and Christine Lambkin, Queensland Museum
E.-M.E. Bugledich, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Introduction
The family Pleciidae was previously subfamily Pleciinae Duda in the family Bibionidae. Following studies of adult and larval stages Rohdendorf (1964) and Krivosheina (1969) elevated the group to the rank of Family. Pleciidae as a family has been supported by studies of the musculature of the male genitalia (Ovtshinnikova 1996).
There is ongoing discussion about whether this group should be considered a family or subfamily. Many European authors, e.g. Werner (1999), treat the group as a family. Some North American authors use Pleciidae, while others retain the group as a subfamily of Bibionidae.
General References
Krivosheina, N.P. 1969. Ontogenez i evolyutsiya dvukrylykh nasekomykh. Transactions of the Paleontological Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences 1-291 [This reference is cited in Werner, D. 1999. The Types of Bibionidae and Pleciidae (Diptera) in the Collection of the Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin, with Lectotype Designations Zoosystematics and Evolution 75 (1): 51-61]
Ovtshinnikova, O.G. 1994. Pleciidae as a separate family on the basis of the musculature of the male genitalia (Diptera). Zoosystematica Rossica 3(1): 149-152
Rohdendorf, B.B. 1964. The historical development of dipterous insects. Transactions of the Paleontological Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences 100: 1-311
Werner, D. 1999. The types of Bibionidae and Pleciidae (Diptera) in the Collection of the Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin, with Lectotype designations. Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin Zoologische Reihe 75(1): 51-61 [Date published 12/04/1999]