| Nycteribiidae | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Nycteribiidae Samouelle 1819 |
| Subfamilies | |
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Three; see text | |
Nycteribiidae is a family of the true fly superfamily Hippoboscoidea. Together with their close relatives the Streblidae, they are known as "bat flies". As the latter do not seem to be a monophyletic group, it is conceivable that bat flies cannot be united into a single family.[1]
They are flattened, spiderlike flies without eyes or wings, and as such bear very little resemblance to other Dipterans. These flies are seldom encountered by general collectors, as they almost never leave the bodies of their hosts. Both males and females take blood meals, thus qualifying as parasites. Most species are highly host-specific. The family is primarily found in the Old World tropics; a few of the 274[2] known species occur in the Neotropics and in Europe.
- ^ Frederik Torp Petersen; Rudolf Meier; Sujatha Narayanan Kutty; Brian M. Wiegmann (2007). "The phylogeny and evolution of host choice in the Hippoboscoidea (Diptera) as reconstructed using four molecular markers". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (1): 111–122. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.04.023. PMID 17583536.
- ^ Gustavo Graciolli & Carl W. Dick (October 22, 2008), Checklist of World Nycteribiidae (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) (PDF), Field Museum of Natural History, archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2012, retrieved December 10, 2008