Cyclorrhapha is an unranked taxon within the infraorderMuscomorpha. They are called "Cyclorrhapha" ('circular-seamed flies')[1] with reference to the circular aperture through which the adult escapes the puparium.[2] This is a circumscriptional name that has significant historical familiarity, but in the present classification, this name is synonymous with the more recent "Muscomorpha".[3]
Cyclorrhapha underwent major adaptive radiation that led to the creation of over 72 000 species. These species share multiple attributes such as the 360-degree rotation of the male terminalia.[4]
Cyclorrhapha exhibits significant morphological and molecular diversity, including notable changes in anterior egg development, as exemplified by the role of the exuperantia (exu) gene in Anastrepha fraterculus, a species of great agricultural importance.[5] Additionally, phylogenetic analyses suggest that the larval structures of Cyclorrhapha have evolved in response to varying food consistencies, reflecting their ecological adaptations.[6]
^Borror, Donald J.; Triplehorn, Charles A.; Johnson, Norman F. (2009). An Introduction to the Study of Insects, Sixth Edition. Saunders College Publishing, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, Philadelphia. pp. 501, 548. ISBN978-0-03-025397-3.
^Borror, Donald J.; Triplehorn, Charles A.; Johnson, Norman F. (2009). An Introduction to the Study of Insects, Sixth Edition. Saunders College Publishing, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, Philadelphia. p. 548. ISBN978-0-03-025397-3.
^Oliveira, J. L. de, Sobrinho-Junior, I. S., Chahad-Ehlers, S., & Brito, R. A. de. (2017). Evolutionary coincidence of adaptive changes in Exuperantia and the emergence of bicoid in Cyclorrhapha (Diptera) - Development Genes and Evolution. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00427-017-0594-3
^Rotheray, G. E., & Gilbert, F. (2008). Phylogenetic relationships and the larval head of the lower Cyclorrhapha (Diptera). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 153(2), 287–323. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00395.x