Phylogeny of the Archiborborinae (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae) Based on Combined Morphological and Molecular Analysis

Abstract

The Archiborborinae is a diverse Neotropical subfamily of Sphaeroceridae, with many undescribed species. The existing generic classification includes three genera consisting of brachypterous species, with all other species placed in the genus Archiborborus. We present the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the subfamily based on morphological, molecular, and combined datasets. Morphological data include 53 characters and cover all valid described taxa (33 species in 4 genera) in the subfamily, as well as 83 undescribed species. Molecular data for five genes (mitochondrial 12S rDNA, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, and cytochrome B, and nuclear alanyl-tRNA synthetase and 28S rDNA) were obtained for 21 ingroup taxa. Data support the separation of the Archiborborinae from the Copromyzinae, with which they were formerly combined. Analyses support consistent groups within the subfamily, but relationships between groups are poorly resolved. The validity of the brachypterous genera Penola Richards and Frutillaria Richards is supported. The former genus Archiborborus Duda is paraphyletic, and will be divided into monophyletic genera on the basis of this work. Aptery and brachyptery have evolved multiple times in the subfamily. Antrops Enderlein, previously including a single brachypterous species, is a senior synonym of Archiborborus. © 2013 Kits et al.