Leptoconops (black gnat) is a midge genus in the family Ceratopogonidae. It has a mostly tropical or subtropical distribution worldwide, but some species occur as far north as Moscow region in Russia and the Yukon Territory in Canada.
This genus is relictual, having had a pantropical distribution during the Cretaceous. The presence of Leptoconops, along with Austroconops, in ancient Lebanese amber makes these the earliest existing lineages of biting midges. Extinct species have also been described from amber from Siberia, New Jersey, Canada, Hungary, Sakhalin, France, and Spain.
Adult Leptoconops females are diurnal feeders, and suck vertebrate blood. Adults of both sexes in some species rest by burying themselves in sand. Larvae feed on algae, fungi, and bacteria. They burrow in moist, usually saline, sand or mud of desert areas and coastal and inland beaches.
Species Leptoconops contains the following species:
Leptoconops acer Clastrier, 1973 Leptoconops albiventris de Meijere, 1915 Leptoconops algeriensis Clastrier, 1975 Leptoconops altuneshanensis Yu and Shao, 1988 Leptoconops americanus Carter, 1921 Leptoconops amplifemoralis Chanthawanich and Delfinado, 1967 †Leptoconops amplificatus Borkent, 2001 Leptoconops andersoni Clastrier and Wirth, 1978 †Leptoconops antiquus Borkent, 2001 Leptoconops arnaudi Clastrier and Wirth, 1978 Leptoconops ascius Yu and Hui, 1988 Leptoconops asilomar Clastrier and Wirth, 1978 Leptoconops atchleyi Clastrier and Wirth, 1978 Leptoconops auster Clastrier, 1981 Leptoconops aviarum Gutsevich, 1973 Leptoconops bahreinensis Clastrier and Boorman, 1987 Leptoconops bossoi Clastrier, 1981 Leptoconops belkini Wirth and Atchley, 1973 Leptoconops bequaerti (Kieffer), 1925 Leptoconops bezzii (Noè), 1905 Leptoconops bidentatus Gutsevich, 1960 Leptoconops binangulus Yu, 1989 Leptoconops binisiculus Yu and Liu, 1988 Leptoconops borealis Gutsevich, 1945 Leptoconops boreus Kalugina, 1991 Leptoconops brasiliensis (Lutz), 1913 Leptoconops brevistylus Mazumdar, Saha & Chaudhuri, 2010 Leptoconops bullsbrookensis Smee, 1966 Leptoconops bundyensis Smee, 1966 †Leptoconops burmiticus Szadziewski, 2004 Leptoconops californiensis Wirth and Atchley, 1973 Leptoconops camelorum (Kieffer), 1921 Leptoconops capensis de Meillon and Hardy, 1953 Leptoconops carteri Hoffman, 1926 Leptoconops casali Cavalieri and Chiossone, 1966 Leptoconops catawbae (Boesel), 1948 Leptoconops chenfui Yu and Xiang, 1988 Leptoconops chilensis Forattini, 1958 Leptoconops chinensis Sun, 1968 Leptoconops communis González & Tanase, 2026 Leptoconops conulus Yu and Liu, 1990 Leptoconops copiosus Borkent, 1996 Leptoconops curvachelus Borkent, 1996 †Leptoconops daugeroni Choufani, Azar and Nel, 2011 Leptoconops demeilloni Clastrier and Nevill, 1984 Leptoconops dissimilis Clastrier, 1975 Leptoconops dixi de Meillon, 1936 Leptoconops doyeni Spinelli and Ronderos, 1993 †Leptoconops ellenbergeri Szadziewski, 2015 Leptoconops endialis Smee, 1966 Leptoconops exspectator Clastrier, 1975 Leptoconops flaviventris Kieffer, 1918 Leptoconops floridensis Wirth, 1951 Leptoconops foleyi Clastrier, 1975 Leptoconops fortipalpus Mazumdar, Saha & Chaudhuri, 2010 Leptoconops foulki Clastrier and Wirth, 1978 Leptoconops freeborni Wirth, 1952 Leptoconops fretus Yu and Zhan, 1990 Leptoconops fuscipennis Clastrier, Rioux, and Descous, 1961 Leptoconops gallicus Clastrier, 1973 Leptoconops golanensis Clastrier, 1981 Leptoconops grandis Carter, 1921 †Leptoconops gravesi Choufani et al., 2014 Leptoconops halophilus Smee, 1966 Leptoconops hamariensis Herzi and Sabatini, 1983 Leptoconops harrisoni de Meillon and Hardy, 1953 Leptoconops helobius Ma and Yu, 1990 Leptoconops hutsoni Clastrier, 1974 Leptoconops hyalinipennis Kieffer, 1918 Leptoconops indicus (Kieffer), 1918 Leptoconops interruptus (Enderlein), 1908 Leptoconops irritans (Noè), 1905 Leptoconops kerteszi Kieffer, 1908 Leptoconops kinmenensis Lien, Lin, Weng and Chin, 1996 Leptoconops knowltoni Clastrier and Wirth, 1978 Leptoconops lacteipennis Kieffer, 1918 Leptoconops laosensis Clastrier, 1974 Leptoconops latibulorum Gutsevich, 1973 Leptoconops laurae (Weiss), 1912 Leptoconops linleyi Wirth and Atchley, 1973 Leptoconops lisbonnei Harant and Galan, 1944 Leptoconops longicauda Yu, 1997 Leptoconops longicornis Carter, 1921 Leptoconops lucidus Gutsevich, 1964 Leptoconops mackerrassae Smee, 1966 Leptoconops macfiei Clastrier, 1975 Leptoconops melanderi Wirth and Atchley, 1973 Leptoconops mellori Clastrier and Boorman, 1987 Leptoconops mesopotamiensis (Patton), 1920 Leptoconops minutus Gutsevich, 1973 Leptoconops mohavensis Wirth and Atchley, 1973 Leptoconops montanus Konurbajev, 1965 Leptoconops montigenus Clastrier, 1981 Leptoconops mooloolabaensis (Smee), 1966 Leptoconops myersi (Tonnoir), 1924 †Leptoconops myanmaricus Szadziewski, 2004 Leptoconops nachitschevanicus Dzhafarov, 1961 Leptoconops nevilli Clastrier, 1981 Leptoconops nicolayi de Meillon, 1937 Leptoconops nigripes Dzhafarov, 1961 Leptoconops nigrithorax González & Tanase, 2026 Leptoconops nipponensis Tokunaga, 1937 Leptoconops nivalis Smee, 1966 Leptoconops noei Clastrier and Coluzzi, 1973 †Leptoconops nosopheris Poinar, 2008 Leptoconops obscurus Smee, 1966 Leptoconops panamensis Ronderos and Spinelli, 1993 Leptoconops parvichelus Chanthawanich and Delfindao, 1967 Leptoconops patagoniensis Ronderos, 1990 Leptoconops pavlovskyi Dzhafarov, 1961 Leptoconops peneti (Langeron), 1913 Leptoconops petrocchiae Shannon and Del Ponte, 1927 Leptoconops primaevus Borkent, 1995 Leptoconops pseudoirritans González & Tanase, 2026 Leptoconops pseudosetosifrons (Smee), 1966 Leptoconops pugnax Clastrier, 1973 Leptoconops reesi Clastrier and Wirth, 1978 Leptoconops rhodesiensis Carter, 1921 Leptoconops ricardoi Ronderos and Spinelli, 1992 Leptoconops riverinaensis Smee, 1966 †Leptoconops rossi Szadziewski, 2004 Leptoconops rufiventris (Kieffer), 1923 Leptoconops setosifrons (Smee), 1966 Leptoconops shangweni Xu and Yu, 1989 Leptoconops siamensis Carter, 1921 Leptoconops sibericus Szadziewski, 1996 Leptoconops smeei Wirth and Atchley, 1973 Leptoconops spinosifrons (Carter), 1921 Leptoconops stygius Skuse, 1889 Leptoconops sublettei Clastrier and Wirth, 1978 Leptoconops succineus Szadziewski, 1988 Leptoconops tarimensis Yu, 1982 Leptoconops tenebrostigmatus Mazumdar, Saha & Chaudhuri, 2010 Leptoconops tibetensis Lee, 1978 Leptoconops torrens (Townsend), 1893 Leptoconops transversalis (Kieffer), 1921 Leptoconops triangularis González & Tanase, 2026 Leptoconops turkmenicus Molotova, 1967 Leptoconops umbellifer Clastrier, 1981 Leptoconops vargasi Clastrier and Wirth, 1978 Leptoconops venezuelensis Ortiz, 1952 Leptoconops vexans (Kieffer), 1921 Leptoconops wehaiensis Yu and Xue, 1988 Leptoconops werneri Wirth and Atchley, 1973 Leptoconops whitseli Clastrier and Wirth, 1978 Leptoconops woodhilli Lee, 1948 Leptoconops xuthosceles Chanthawanich and Delfinado, 1967 Leptoconops yalongensis Yu and Wang, 1988 Leptoconops yunhsienensis Yu, 1963 †Leptoconops zherikhini Szadziewski & Arillo, 2003
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