Fauna Europaea: Diptera – Brachycera
Authors: Pape Thomas , Beuk Paul , Pont Adrian , Shatalkin Anatole , Ozerov Andrey , Woźnica Andrzej , Merz Bernhard , Bystrowski Cezary , Raper Chris , Bergström Christer , Kehlmaier Christian , Clements David , Greathead David , Kameneva Elena , Nartshuk Emilia , Petersen Frederik , Weber Gisela , Bächli Gerhard , Geller-Grimm Fritz , Van de Weyer Guy , Tschorsnig Hans-Peter , de Jong Herman , van Zuijlen Jan-Willem , Vaňhara Jaromír , Roháček Jindřich , Ziegler Joachim , Majer József , Hůrka Karel , Holston Kevin , Rognes Knut , Greve-Jensen Lita , Munari Lorenzo , de Meyer Marc , Pollet Marc , Speight Martin , Ebejer Martin , Martinez Michel , Carles-Tolrá Miguel , Földvári Mihály , Chvála Milan , Barták Miroslav , Evenhuis Neal , Chandler Peter , Cerretti Pierfilippo , Meier Rudolf , Rozkosny Rudolf , Prescher Sabine , Gaimari Stephen , Zatwarnicki Tadeusz , Zeegers Theo , Dikow Torsten , Korneyev Valery , Richter Vera , Michelsen Verner , Tanasijtshuk Vitali , Mathis Wayne , Hubenov Zdravko , de Jong Yde 
Published: February 2015

Fauna Europaea provides a public web-service with an index of scientific names (including important synonyms) of all extant multicellular European terrestrial and freshwater animals and their geographical distribution at the level of countries and major islands (east of the Urals and excluding the Caucasus region). The Fauna Europaea project comprises about 230,000 taxonomic names, including 130,000 accepted species and 14,000 accepted subspecies, which is much more than the originally projected number of 100,000 species. Fauna Europaea represents a huge effort by more than 400 contributing taxonomic specialists throughout Europe and is a unique (standard) reference suitable for many user communities in science, government, industry, nature conservation and education. The Diptera–Brachycera is one of the 58 Fauna Europaea major taxonomic groups, and data have been compiled by a network of 55 specialists.

Within the two-winged insects (Diptera), the Brachycera constitute a monophyletic group, which is generally given rank of suborder. The Brachycera may be classified into the probably paraphyletic 'lower brachyceran grade' and the monophyletic Eremoneura. The latter contains the Empidoidea, the Apystomyioidea with a single Nearctic species, and the Cyclorrhapha, which in turn is divided into the paraphyletic 'aschizan grade' and the monophyletic Schizophora. The latter is traditionally divided into the paraphyletic 'acalyptrate grade' and the monophyletic Calyptratae. Our knowledge of the European fauna of Diptera–Brachycera varies tremendously among families, from the reasonably well known hoverflies (Syrphidae) to the extremely poorly known scuttle flies (Phoridae). There has been a steady growth in our knowledge of European Diptera for the last two centuries, with no apparent slow down, but there is a shift towards a larger fraction of the new species being found among the families of the nematoceran grade (lower Diptera), which due to a larger number of small-sized species may be considered as taxonomically more challenging.

Most of Europe is highly industrialised and has a high human population density, and the more fertile habitats are extensively cultivated. This has undoubtedly increased the extinction risk for numerous species of brachyceran flies, yet with the recent re-discovery of Thyreophora cynophila (Panzer), there are no known cases of extinction at a European level. However, few national Red Lists have extensive information on Diptera.

For the Diptera–Brachycera, data from 96 families containing 11,751 species are included in this paper.