Phenotypic polymorphism of Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) may lead to species misidentification

Abstract

Species identification is an essential step in the progress and completion of work in several areas of biological knowledge, but it is not a simple process. Due to the close phylogenetic relationship of certain species, morphological characters are not always sufficiently distinguishable. As a result, it is necessary to combine several methods of analysis that contribute to a distinct categorization of taxa. This study aimed to raise diagnostic characters, both morphological and molecular, for the correct identification of species of the genus Chrysomya (Diptera: Calliphoridae) recorded in the New World, which has continuously generated discussion about its taxonomic position over the last century. A clear example of this situation was the first record of Chrysomya rufifacies in Brazilian territory in 2012. However, the morphological polymorphism and genetic variability of Chrysomya albiceps studied here show that both species (C. rufifacies and C. albiceps) share very similar character states, leading to misidentification and subsequent registration error of species present in our territory. This conclusion is demonstrated by the authors, based on a review of the material deposited in major scientific collections in Brazil and subsequent molecular and phylogenetic analysis of these samples. Additionally, we have proposed a new taxonomic key to separate the species of Chrysomya found on the American continent, taking into account a larger number of characters beyond those available in current literature.

Two Colors, One Species: The Case of Melissodes nigroaenea (Apidae: Eucerini), an Important Pollinator of Cotton Fields in Brazil

“…Even though morphological characters are widely used for species identification, some of the phenotypic traits that are easiest to be recognized visually often fail to delimit species accurately (Arribas et al, 2012;Lecocq et al, 2015). For example, several studies on insects, including flies (Grella et al, 2015), butterflies (Garzón-Orduña et al, 2018), and bees (Carolan et al, 2012;Ferrari & Melo, 2014;Huang et al, 2015) have shown that traits like color can be hard to interpret as diagnostic characters for species identification. Color traits may exhibit high rates of polymorphism due to environmental influences or genetic differences at a single single or multiple loci (Miyanaga et al, 1999;Uy et al, 2009;White & Kemp, 2016;Hines et al, 2017).…”

Checklist and distribution maps of the blow flies of Venezuela (Diptera, Calliphoridae, Mesembrinellidae)

“…The material examined was identified on the basis of specific keys for each subfamily of Calliphoridae, i.e. Mariluis and Peris (1984) and Whitworth (2012) for Calliphorinae; Mariluis and Peris (1984), Mariluis et al (1994b), Rognes (1994) and Whitworth (2010, 2014) for Luciliinae; Dear (1985), González-Mora et al (1998), Mariluis et al (1994a), Rognes and Paterson (2005), Whitworth (2010) and Grella et al (2015) for Chrysomyinae, and Dear (1979) for Toxotarsinae. In the case of Mesembrinellidae the keys of Guimarães (1977), Bonatto and Marinoni (2005) and Wolff et al (2014) were used.…”

How do invasive species affect native species? Experimental evidence from a carrion blowfly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) system

“…In Colombia, C. rufifacies was also the most abundant species on human cadavers (Barreto et al, 2002), reinforcing its superior competitive potential. Geographic expansion of C. rufifacies towards South America may lead to its widespread establishment, and molecular techniques have been used to determine if it has reached other countries within the continent (Grella et al, 2015). The ecological consequences of this dispersion can only be predicted using the results of quantitative studies.…”