Strashilidae

The family Strashilidae is an extinct group of Jurassic insect flies from Siberia and China. They were originally believed to represent a distinct order called Nakridletia,[1] but recent research has determined that they were flies related to the extant family Nymphomyiidae,[2] and two of the species (and genera) in the group were determined to be synonyms.[2] The original hypothesis was that the insects were wingless and were probably ectoparasites of pterosaurs,[1] mostly due to their enlarged hind legs, which were theorised as useful for grasping hair and feathers;[3] however, additional fossils showed that both sexes had deciduous wings, and that only males had enlarged hind legs, used to grasp the females during mating.[2] The family is now known from two species in the genus Strashila and one in the genus Vosila.[2]

Strashilidae
Temporal range: 167–145 Ma Middle Jurassic – Upper Jurassic
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Superorder:
Endopterygota
Order:
Diptera
Suborder:
Nematocera
Family:
†Strashilidae

Rasnitsyn, 1992
Genera

See also

References
  1. Peter Vršanský; Dong Ren & Chungkun Shih (2010). "Nakridletia ord.n. – enigmatic insect parasites support sociality and endothermy of pterosaurs". AMBA Projekty. 8 (1): 1–16.
  2. D. Huang; A. Nel; C. Cai; Q. Lin & M. S. Engel (2013). "Amphibious flies and paedomorphism in the Jurassic period". Nature. 495: 94–97. doi:10.1038/nature11898. PMID 23426262.
  3. Bressen, David (March 1, 2012). "What Bugged the Dinosaurs?". History of Geology (blog). Scientific American. Retrieved 1 March 2012.


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