Dixidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Antliophora
Ordo: Diptera
Subordo: Nematocera
Infraordo: Culicomorpha
Superfamilia: Culicoidea

Familia: Dixidae
Genera (8 + 2†): Asiodixa – Dixa – Dixella – Meringodixa – Mesodixa – Metadixa – Neodixa – Nothodixa – †Eucorethrina – †Syndixa

[source: Catalogue of Life: 2013 Annual Checklist, except fossils]
Name

Dixidae Schiner, 1868: 48
References
Primary references

Schiner, I.R. 1868. Diptera. vi + 388 pp., 4 pls. In: Reise der österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859 unter den Befehlen des Commodore B. von Wüllerstorf. Zoologischer Theil. 2(1)B. K. Gerold’s Sohn, Wien. BHL. Reference page.

Additional references

Belkin, J.N. 1968: Mosquito studies (Diptera, Culicidae) VII. The Culicidae of New Zealand. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, 3(1): 1–182.
Lukashevich, E.D. 1996: Mesozoic Dixidae (Insecta: Diptera) and the systematic position of the genera Dixamima Rohdendorf, 1964 and Rhaetomyia Rohdendorf, 1962. Paleontologicheskii zhurnal, 1996(1): 48–53. [in Russian, English translation in Paleontological journal, 30(1): 46–51.] Abstract [not seen]
Papp, L., Merz, B. & Földvári, M. 2006. Diptera of Thailand. A summary of the families and genera with references to the species representations. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 52(2): 97–268. Full article (PDF) Reference page.

Vernacular names
suomi: Sinkilähyttyset
日本語: ホソカ科
中文: 细蚊科

The Dixidae (meniscus midges) are a family of aquatic nematoceran flies (Diptera). The larvae live in unpolluted, standing fresh waters, just beneath the surface film, usually amongst marginal aquatic vegetation.[2][3] They are found in all continents except Antarctica.

Description

For terms see Morphology of Diptera
Wing venation

Dixidae are small (body length not more than 5.0 mm) slender gnats with thin legs. The head is relatively broad. The antennae are thin and the flagellum has 14 segments. The proboscis is short and thick and the palpi are five-segmented. The thorax is slightly convex. The wing veins are without scales (with scales in the closely related family Culicidae. The subcosta is fused with the costa at the level of the base of Rs or slightly proximal to this. The wing venation exhibits radial, medial, and cubital forks (R 4 branched, M 2 branched, Cu 2 branched). R 2+ 3 is strongly arched, the r–m crossvein is distinct, and the discal cell is absent. The anal vein of the wing is long. The genitalia of the male is inverted at 180° by torsion of segments 5–8.
Evolutionary history

The oldest known fossils of the group come from the Jurassic of Asia, assigned to the extinct genera Syndixa and Eucorethrina, members of modern genera are not known until the Eocene.[4]
References

Papp, L., Merz, B. & Földvari (2006): Diptera of Thailand. A summary of the families and genera with references to the species representations. Acta. zool. hung. Vol. 52 (2)
R. W. Bouchard, Jr. (2005). Guide to Aquatic Invertebrates of the Upper Midwest. University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
R. H. L. Disney (1999). British Dixidae (meniscus midges) and Thaumaleidae (trickle midges): keys with ecological notes. Vol. 56. Freshwater Biological Association. pp. 128 pp. ISBN 0-900386-60-6.

Greenwalt, D (2016). "The first fossil New World Dixidae with a critical discussion of generic definitions". Palaeontologia Electronica. doi:10.26879/656. ISSN 1094-8074.