Drosophila

Drosophila (/drəˈsɒfᵻlə, drɒ-, droʊ-/) is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit. They should not be confused with the Tephritidae, a related family, which are also called fruit flies (sometimes referred to as "true fruit flies"); tephritids feed primarily on unripe or ripe fruit, with many species being regarded as destructive agricultural pests, especially the Mediterranean fruit fly. One species of Drosophila in particular, D. melanogaster, has been heavily used in research in genetics and is a common model organism in developmental biology. The terms "fruit fly" and "Drosophila" are often used synonymously with D. melanogaster in modern biological literature. The entire genus, however, contains more than 1,500 species and is very diverse in appearance, behavior, and breeding habitat.

Drosophila (subgenus)

The paraphyletic subgenus Drosophila of the genus Drosophila was first described by Alfred Sturtevant in 1939.

Phylogeny

Most species are within three major groups, the virilis-repleta radiation, the immigrans-tripunctata radiation and the Hawaiian Drosophila. Additionally, several smaller species groups are recognized consisting of smaller number of species, like the tumiditarsus species group and the polychaeta species group.

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