Acrocera orbiculus, also known as the top-horned hunchback, is a species of fly belonging to the family Acroceridae. The species has a holarctic distribution, ranging from North America to the Palaearctic.[3]

Acrocera orbiculus
Acrocera orbiculus in Meigen Europäischen Zweiflügeligen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Acroceridae
Genus: Acrocera
Species:
A. orbiculus
Binomial name
Acrocera orbiculus
(Fabricius, 1787)
Synonyms[3]

Etymology

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The specific name is the Latin diminutive noun orbiculus, meaning 'a small disk'.[4] As a noun in apposition, the suffix does not alter to reflect the gender of the genus.

Description

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"Antennae placed at the extreme top of the head, ending in a long thin arista. Venation very much reduced. Proboscis absent, or very short and stumpy" [5]

Biology

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The larvae are endoparasites of spiders in the families Amaurobiidae, Clubionidae and Lycosidae.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Cole, F. R. (1919). "The Dipterous Family Cyrtidae in North America". Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 45 (1): 1–79. JSTOR 25077002.
  2. ^ Majer, J. (1977). "Data to the Acroceridae (Diptera) fauna of Mongolia". Folia Entomologica Hungarica. 30: 105–107.
  3. ^ a b c Kehlmaier, Christian; Almeida, Jorge Mota (2014). "New host records for European Acroceridae (Diptera), with discussion of species limits of Acrocera orbiculus (Fabricius) based on DNA-barcoding" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3780 (1): 135–52. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3780.1.5. PMID 24871830.
  4. ^ Lewis, C. T.; Short, C. (1879). "orbĭcŭlus". A Latin Dictionary. Founded on Andrews' edition of Freund's Latin dictionary (Revised, enlarged ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  5. ^ Verrall, G. H., 1909 Stratiomyidae and succeeding families of the Diptera Brachycera of Great Britain British flies Volume 5 London : Gurney and Jackson, 1909.BHL Full text with illustrations
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