Silvio Shigueo Nihei

Systematics and biogeography of Polietina Schnabl & Dziedzicki (Diptera, Muscidae): Neotropical area relationships and Amazonia as a composite area

Abstract The genus Polietina Schnabl & Dziedzicki, 1911 (Diptera, Muscidae) groups 15 species distributed throughout the Neotropical region. Here, generic and specific diagnoses and a species identification key are provided, with cladistic and biogeographical analyses performed and results discussed. In the cladistic analysis, the application of equal, successive and implied character weighting schemes resulted in the single cladogram ((P. flavidicincta (P. rubella (P. concinna (P. orbitalis, P. wulpi)))) (P. steini ((P. flavithorax, P. major) (P. nigra, P. prima) (P. bicolor, P. minor, P. univittata)))). In the biogeographical analysis, the Brooks parsimony analysis was performed by experimenting several combinations of areas of endemism proposed previously in the literature, and one area cladogram ((Caribbean, north‐west Amazonia) (south‐east Amazonia (Chacoan, Paraná))) favours a previously proposed hypothesis of a composite history for Amazonia.

Does counting species count as taxonomy? On misrepresenting systematics, yet again

Recent commentary by Costello and collaborators on the current state of the global taxonomic enterprise attempts to demonstrate that taxonomy is not in decline as feared by taxonomists, but rather is increasing by virtue of the rate at which new species are formally named. Having supported their views with data that clearly indicate as much, Costello et al. make recommendations to increase the rate of new species descriptions even more. However, their views appear to rely on the perception of species as static and numerically if not historically equivalent entities whose value lie in their roles as “metrics”. As such, their one‐dimensional portrayal of the discipline, as concerned solely with the creation of new species names, fails to take into account both the conceptual and epistemological foundations of systematics. We refute the end‐user view that taxonomy is on the rise simply because more new species are being described compared with earlier decades, and that, by implication, taxonomic practice is a formality whose pace can be streamlined without considerable resources, intellectual or otherwise. Rather, we defend the opposite viewpoint that professional taxonomy is in decline relative to the immediacy of the extinction crisis, and that this decline threatens not just the empirical science of phylogenetic systematics, but also the foundations of comparative biology on which other fields rely. The allocation of space in top‐ranked journals to propagate views such as those of Costello et al. lends superficial credence to the unsupportive mindset of many of those in charge of the institutional fate of taxonomy. We emphasize that taxonomy and the description of new species are dependent upon, and only make sense in light of, empirically based classifications that reflect evolutionary history; homology assessments are at the centre of these endeavours, such that the biological sciences cannot afford to have professional taxonomists sacrifice the comparative and historical depth of their hypotheses in order to accelerate new species descriptions.

Distributional patterns of the neotropical fly genus Polietina Schnabl & Dziedzicki (Diptera, Muscidae): a phylogeny-supported analysis using panbiogeographic tools

Over the last decades, Neotropical region has been subdivided into smaller units (areas of endemism), yet these subdivisions were not necessarily based on an evolutionary perspective. Consequently, these areas of endemism may be biogeographic units that do not actually represent natural historical units. Here, the distributional patterns of the genus Polietina Schnabl & Dziedzicki, 1911 (Diptera, Muscidae; including 15 species) are analysed by applying panbiogeographic tools to recognise and propose primary homologous areas within the Neotropical region. The analysis and discussion of the results obtained here will be reconciled to the information provided by the phylogenetic hypothesis available for the genus.

Timeless standards for species delimitation

Recently a new species of bombyliid fly, Marleyimyia xylocopae, was described by Marshall & Evenhuis (2015) based on two photographs taken during fieldwork in the Republic of South Africa. This species has no preserved holotype. The paper generated some buzz, especially among dipterists, because in most cases photographs taken in the field provide insufficient information for properly diagnosing and documenting species of Diptera.

On typeless species and the perils of fast taxonomy

C H A R L E S M O R P H Y D . S A N T O S 1, D A L T O N S . A M O R I M 2, B R U N A K L A S S A 1, D I E G O A . F A C H I N 2, S I L V I O S . N I H E I 3, C L A U D I O J . B . D E C A R VA L H O 4, R A F A E L A L . F A L A S C H I 5, C Á T I A A . M E L L O P A T I U 6, M Á R C I A S . C O U R I 6, S A R A H S . O L I V E I R A 7, V E R A C . S I L VA 8, G U I L H E R M E C . R I B E I R O 1, R E N A T O S . C A P E L L A R I 9 and C A R L O S J O S É E . L A M A S 5

Catálogo do material-tipo de Tachinidae (Diptera) depositado no Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo

Catalogue of the type-material of Tachinidae deposited at the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo. The Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo (Brazil) houses the largest and most representative Brazilian collection of Diptera. The Tachinidae collection appears as the second most numerous, with a total of 32554 mounted adult specimens. In the present study, it is presented a catalogue of primary and secondary type-specimens deposited at the Museu de Zoologia, providing information on collecting data, preserving conditions, as well as the taxonomic status of specific names and its current generic placement, whenever different from the original combination. The catalogue lists a total of 847 type-specimens (99 holotypes, 737 paratypes, 8 syntypes, 1 lectotype, 1 paralectotype and 1 neotype) representing 263 nominal species of Tachinidae, mostly from the Neotropical region. Also, the specimens with dubious status (if type or not) are listed. A short biography of Charles Henry Tyler Townsend and Jose Henrique Guimaraes is presented.

Biogeographic analysis of Crocidiinae (Diptera, Bombyliidae): finding congruence among morphological, molecular, fossil and paleogeographical data

Estudos biogeograficos sobre os Bombyliidae sao raros na literatura e nao ha nenhuma informacao sobre sua origem e diversificacao inicial. Neste estudo encontramos evidencias de filogenias moleculares e de registros fosseis suportando a origem dos Bombylioidea no Jurassico Medio. Esse e o nosso ponto de partida para discutir a biogeografia e diversificacao de Crocidiinae. A partir de uma hipotese filogenetica previamente publicada, realizamos uma Analise de Parcimonia de Brooks (BPA) para discutir a historia biogeografica das linhagens de Crocidiinae. Esta subfamilia esta distribuida principalmente por areas aridas dos antigos componentes do supercontinente gondwanico: Chile e Sul da Africa, alem do sudoeste da regiao Paleartica e sudoeste da regiao Neartica. Os eventos vicariantes que afetaram a biogeografia de Crocidiinae ao nivel generico parecem ser a separacao sequencial de um clado laurasico e um clado gondwanico, seguido da divisao deste em seus componentes menores. Com base nesses eventos, a origem dos Crocidiinae pode ser inferida para o Jurassico Medio, mesmo periodo em que outras linhagens de Bombyliidae teriam surgido e irradiado.

Phylogeny of Anophelinae using mitochondrial protein coding genes

Malaria is a vector-borne disease that is a great burden on the poorest and most marginalized communities of the tropical and subtropical world. Approximately 41 species of Anopheline mosquitoes can effectively spread species of Plasmodium parasites that cause human malaria. Proposing a natural classification for the subfamily Anophelinae has been a continuous effort, addressed using both morphology and DNA sequence data. The monophyly of the genus Anopheles, and phylogenetic placement of the genus Bironella, subgenera Kerteszia, Lophopodomyia and Stethomyia within the subfamily Anophelinae, remain in question. To understand the classification of Anophelinae, we inferred the phylogeny of all three genera (Anopheles, Bironella, Chagasia) and major subgenera by analysing the amino acid sequences of the 13 protein coding genes of 150 newly sequenced mitochondrial genomes of Anophelinae and 18 newly sequenced Culex species as outgroup taxa, supplemented with 23 mitogenomes from GenBank. Our analyses generally place genus Bironella within the genus Anopheles, which implies that the latter as it is currently defined is not monophyletic. With some inconsistencies, Bironella was placed within the major clade that includes Anopheles, Cellia, Kerteszia, Lophopodomyia, Nyssorhynchus and Stethomyia, which were found to be monophyletic groups within Anophelinae. Our findings provided robust evidence for elevating the monophyletic groupings Kerteszia, Lophopodomyia, Nyssorhynchus and Stethomyia to genus level; genus Anopheles to include subgenera Anopheles, Baimaia, Cellia and Christya; Anopheles parvus to be placed into a new genus; Nyssorhynchus to be elevated to genus level; the genus Nyssorhynchus to include subgenera Myzorhynchella and Nyssorhynchus; Anopheles atacamensis and Anopheles pictipennis to be transferred from subgenus Nyssorhynchus to subgenus Myzorhynchella; and subgenus Nyssorhynchus to encompass the remaining species of Argyritarsis and Albimanus Sections.

Endecous apterus: a new species of cave cricket from northeast Brazil, with comments on the use of subterranean habitats by Luzarinae crickets (Orthoptera: Grylloidea: Phalangopsidae: Luzarinae).

In this study we describe the first apterous species of Endecous Saussure (1878), collected in two caves at Ituaçu, Bahia State, Brazil. In Brazil, Endecous is the most widespread cricket in hypogean environments and its species can colonize caves and inhabit the entrance and the aphotic zones; Endecous species can also be found in the litter, rock gullies, crevices, burrows, and any natural cavities. The use of subterranean habitat by Endecous crickets and its related genera are discussed.

On the first tachinid fly (Diptera, Tachinidae) carrying Asclepiadoideae pollinaria in the Neotropical Region

On the first tachinid fly (Diptera, Tachinidae) carrying Asclepiadoideae pollinaria in the Neotropical Region. This paper reports the first Neotropical Tachinidae species possibly associated to pollination of Asclepiadoideae: a female of Euacaulona sumichrasti Townsend, 1908 (Diptera, Tachinidae, Phasiinae, Trichopodini) carrying pollinaria of Gonolobus parviflorus Decne., 1844 (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae, Asclepiadeae: Gonolobinae) attached to its proboscis. The fly specimen was collected in Paraguay, Departamento Canindeyu. The pollinarium is illustrated and described herein. This represents the first anthophilous record to G. parviflorus and to the genus.