Cyclorrhaphans

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Flies belonging to a group whose pupae develop inside a protective case formed from the hardened skin of the final larval stage
2. A division of flies characterized by pupae that remain enclosed within the thickened and darkened covering of the last larval skin
3. Flies in which the pupa is contained within a barrel-shaped protective structure derived from the previous larval cuticle

Etymology: "Cyclorrhaphans" is the plural of "cyclorrhaphan," a name for a member of the insect group Cyclorrhapha, a large division of true flies (order Diptera). The group's name is a scientific coinage built from Greek roots: "kyklos," meaning circle or ring, and "rhaphe," meaning seam or suture. The reference is to the way the adult fly's pupal case splits open: rather than the larva shedding its skin in a clean ring, the emerging fly pushes off a circular lid, leaving a circular seam at the front of the puparium. The "-an" ending is the common suffix used in English to form a noun denoting a member of a group, as in "Darwinian" or "Lutheran" in its noun sense, applied here to a taxonomic name. So the plural simply refers to several members of that group. The Latinized form "Cyclorrhapha" itself was a technical label created by entomologists, not a term used by the ancient Greeks, who had no concept of these flies' classification.