Growing the Rhinophorid Tree: Three New Species and Their Phylogenetic Implications (Diptera: Rhinophoridae)

Abstract

Three new species of Rhinophoridae (Aporeomyia elaphocerasp. nov., Baniassa pennatasp. nov. from the Oriental Region, and Phyto mambillasp. nov. from the Afrotropical Region) are described, illustrated and compared with congeners. Genus-level affiliation of the new species is based on a morphology-based phylogeny, preliminarily accepting a paraphyletic Phyto Robineau-Desvoidy awaiting incorporation of molecular data. Keys to the species of the genus Aporeomyia Pape & Shima as well as to the Afrotropical species of the genus Phyto Robineau-Desvoidy are given.

Phylogenetic relationships of the woodlouse flies (Diptera: Rhinophorinae) and the cluster flies (Diptera: Polleniidae)

“…Within Rhinophorini, all the included non-monotypic genera emerged as monophyletic except for “ Rhinomorinia ”. This nominal genus was retrieved as polyphyletic, being divided into two well-supported lineages, which are characterized by distinctive morphological features [ 60 – 62 ; see also the key below]. One clade comprises exclusively Afrotropical species (here placed in the resurrected nominal genus Oxytachina stat.…”

“…Regardless of taxonomic ranking, the monophyly of woodlouse flies has never been questioned, although the lack of unique adult synapomorphies and only scattered information on immature stages and natural history has caused several genera to shift either into or out of the taxon [ 61 ]. At present, rhinophorines number 180 species in 33 genera, and their species diversity peaks in the Mediterranean area [ 61 , 62 ]. Woodlouse flies are widespread except for a notable absence from temperate North America, where they are only represented by a few species recently introduced from the Palaearctic Region [ 63 , 64 ].…”