Gobryidae, a new family of acalyptrate flies (Diptera: Diopsoidea), and a discussion of relationships of the diopsoid families.

Abstract

Relationships among families referred to the superfamily Diopsoidea (or Nothyboidea) are discussed from the evidence of comparative morphology, particular attention being given to the Nothybidae, Psilidae, Syringogastridae, and Diopsidae. Some comments are made on selection of autapomorphies in cladistic methodology. The Tanypezidae and Somatiidae are removed from the Diopsoidea to incertae sedis. The new diopsoid family Gobryidae, or hinge flies, is established for the Oriental-Australasian genus Gobrya Walker, previously variously associated with the families Megamerinidae, Nothybidae, and Syringogastridae. A key to the families which have been included in Diopsoidea is given. A systematic arrangement of taxa mentioned in the discussion is appended.

Family groups of Diopsoidea and Nerioidea (Diptera: Schizophora)—Definition, history and relationships

“…They were termed "hinge flies" by McAlpine (1997b) because of the characteristic articulation of the narrow, straight abdomen with the thorax, which is also seen to a lesser degree in the Megamerinidae, the family in which there were once placed. Gobryidae consists of at least eight species in the single genus Gobrya (McAlpine, 1997b), although only five are described. Species occur in the Oriental Region and adjoining parts of the Australian Region.…”

“…Shillito (1971) and Cogan & Shillito (1980) raised the two tribes to the level of subfamily. Feijen (1983Feijen ( , 1989 later treated Centrioncinae as a separate family, considering it to be more closely related to Syringogastridae, but this was not supported in later studies (McAlpine, 1997b;Kotrba, 2004). A lack of outgroup exemplars likely contributed to Feijen's analytical issues, as only idealized ingroup family-level representatives were considered for the phylogeny.…”

“…He erected the superfamily for Nothybus, segregated it from the remaining Schizophora who were assumed to be more closely related due to asymmetry of the male postabdomen. The symmetry in Nothybus is now assumed to be secondarily derived, as is the symmetry or near symmetry of the postabdomen seen in other Acalyptratae-see McAlpine (1997b), Buck & Marshall (2006c), Huber et al (2007).…”

Hennig’s orphans revisited: Testing morphological hypotheses in the “Opomyzoidea” (Diptera: Schizophora)

“…Later, D.K. McAlpine (1997) reaffirmed his earlier separation of Opomyzoidea and Asteioidea and questioned the putative synapomorphies leading to J.F. McAlpine's broader concept of Opomyzoidea.…”

“…Despite these striking similarities in antennal structure, it is not clear if the antennae of Periscelis are substantially different from members of the Diopsoidea (including part of ''Nothyboidea" of Griffiths, 1972) and some other acalyptrates in these structural details. For example, McAlpine (1997) considers the diopsoid groundplan to include a deeply concave pedicel with a dorsal seam, deflexion of the first flagellomere, and articulation of the first flagellomere by means of a dorsobasal process inserted into a cavity on the pedicel. Similarly, the antennal similarity between Periscelididae sensu stricto and Cyamops, Stenomicra, and Planinasus may be due to convergence.…”