Prosaetomilichia de meijere: A junior subjective synonym of milichia meigen, with a phylogenetic review of the myrmecophila species-group (Diptera, Milichiidae)

Abstract

Prosaetomilichia de Meijere, 1909, with the Javanese species P. brevirostris and P. myrmecophila, is here synonymized with Milichia Meigen, 1830, because its type-species, M. myrmecophila (de Meijere) comb. n., falls within a monophyletic group in Milichia. This group, the myrmecophila species-group, is characterized by a specialized hind tibia and a black flap at the subcostal break, and also contains the species M. farquharsoni Collin, 1921, M. formicophila Deeming, 1976, and M. patrizii Hennig, 1952. The myrmecophila species-group is part of a larger group of shortfaced Milichia species. M. brevirostris (de Meijere) comb. n. is not a member of the myrmecophila species-group, but also belongs to the group of short-faced Milichia species.