Sphaeroceridae

Sphaeroceridae are a family of true flies in the order Diptera, often called small dung flies, lesser dung flies or lesser corpse flies due to their saprophagous habits. They belong to the typical fly suborder Brachycera as can be seen by their short antennae, and more precisely they are members of the section Schizophora. There are over 1,300 species and about 125 genera accepted as valid today, but new taxa are still being described.

Unlike the large "corpse flies" or blow-flies of the family Calliphoridae and the large dung flies of the family Scathophagidae, the small dung flies are members of the schizophoran subsection Acalyptratae. Among their superfamily Sphaeroceroidea, they seem to be particularly close relatives of the family Heleomyzidae.

Description and ecology

For terms see Morphology of Diptera Dung flies are small to minute, usually dull-colored flies with characteristically thickened first segment of posterior tarsi. The first tarsal segment is less than 1+1/2 times as long as the second tarsal segment and dilated. The crossvein separating the 2nd basal and discal cells is missing.Veins 4 and 5 often fade apically.They occur all over the world except in regions with permanent ice-cover. Despite their ubiquity and abundance, little is known about their economic or ecological impact. Some species are known to be parthenogenetic.