The subfamily Phylinae (Heteroptera: Miridae) is one of the largest subfamilies of plant bugs and in the most recent classification comprised six tribes: Pilophorini, Hallodapini, Auricillocorini, Phylini, Pronotocrepini, and Leucophoropterini. Phylogenetic analyses of the subfamily using dynamic homology (POY), parsimony (TNT), and model-based (RAxML) methods are presented. A dataset comprising both morphological and molecular characters (16S, 18S, 28S, and COI-COII) was assembled for taxon samples of 164 ingroup and nine outgroup taxa. A reclassification of the subfamily based on the POY analysis is presented, recognizing nine tribes and nine subtribes. The Auricillocorini is synonymized with the Hallodapini and the Pronotocrepini with the Cremnorrhini; the Phylini was found to be polyphyletic and is redefined; the Semiini and Nasocorini are resurrected and redefined; and the Decomiini and Coatonocapsiniare presented as new tribes. The Hallodapini, rather than the Pilophorini, was found to be the sister-group to the remaining Phylinae.
The Lepidoptera of North America Network, or LepNet, is a digitization effort recently launched to mobilize biodiversity data from 3 million specimens of butterflies and moths in United States natural history collections (http://www.lep-net.org/). LepNet was initially conceived as a North American effort but the project seeks collaborations with museums and other organizations worldwide. The overall goal is to transform Lepidoptera specimen data into readily available digital formats to foster global research in taxonomy, ecology and evolutionary biology.
Eight new species of Hypseloecus are described from Australia, providing the first records of Pilophorini and this formerly Indo-Pacific genus from the continent; two additional new species are described from South Africa. All species are documented as using hemiparasitic Santalales as hosts, including species of Amyema, Dendrophthoe and Lysiana (Loranthaceae) in Australia and Viscum (Viscaceae) and Tapinanthus (Loranthaceae) in South Africa. These new species are integrated into a prior phylogenetic analysis of the Pilophorini on the basis of morphology and DNA sequence data.
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