Historical biogeographic analysis of the family Fanniidae (Diptera: Calyptratae), with special reference to the austral species of the genus Fannia (Diptera: Fanniidae) using dispersal-vicariance analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to achieve a hypothesis explaining the biogeographical history of the family Fanniidae, especially that of the species from Patagonia, the Neotropics, Australia, and New Zealand. We used "dispersal-vicariance analysis" (DIVA), an event-based parsimony method, to analyze the most parsimonious phylogenetic hypothesis for the family, obtained by Domínguez & Roig-Juñent (2008). The analysis resulted in 32800 alternative equally optimal reconstructions that indicate that the ancestor of the Fanniidae was widely distributed across different regions of the world, which along with the subsequent separation of two clades that correspond to the Laurasic and Gondwanan Landmasses allow the proposal of an older age than in previous hypothesis (Late Jurassic or early Cretaceous times instead of upper Cretaceous) and a Pangeic origin for the Fanniidae. The northern hemisphere species of Fanniidae included in this study highlight the difficulty that arises when analysing with DIVA a tree with a large amount of paralogy or redundant distributions, as illustrated here with several examples. The southern hemisphere species of Fanniidae indicate a clear pattern of vicariance and dispersal consistent with the rupture of Gondwana. © Sociedad de Biología de Chile.