Tightening the requirements for species diagnoses would help integrate DNA-based descriptions in taxonomic practice.

Modern advances in DNA sequencing hold the promise of facilitating descriptions of new organisms at ever finer precision but have come with challenges as the major Codes of bionomenclature contain poorly defined requirements for species and subspecies diagnoses (henceforth, species diagnoses), which is particularly problematic for DNA-based taxonomy. We, the commissioners of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, advocate a tightening of the definition of "species diagnosis" in future editions of Codes of bionomenclature, for example, through the introduction of requirements for specific information on the character states of differentiating traits in comparison with similar species. Such new provisions would enhance taxonomic standards and ensure that all diagnoses, including DNA-based ones, contain adequate taxonomic context. Our recommendations are intended to spur discussion among biologists, as broad community consensus is critical ahead of the implementation of new editions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and other Codes of bionomenclature.

Phylogenomics resolves long-standing questions about the affinities of an endangered Corsican endemic fly.

Recent studies on oestroidean Diptera (Brachycera) are providing a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the evolutionary history of this remarkably diverse clade of holometabolous insects. The Oestroidea, which includes formidable pests such as various blowflies, botflies, and flesh flies that infest livestock, pets and humans, are mostly composed of beneficial species that act as scavengers or parasitoids on various pest insects. In our research, we used genomic methods to elucidate the phylogenetic position of Nesodexia corsicana Villeneuve, 1911 (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a mysterious oestroid species endemic to Corsica and characterized by distinctive morphological features that have puzzled taxonomists for years. Contrary to initial hypotheses, our results place Nesodexia Villeneuve, 1911 within the Calliphoridae subfamily Rhinophorinae, a small lineage of terrestrial isopod parasitoids. Through detailed morphological analysis of adults of both sexes and eggs, we uncovered significant insights consistent with our phylogenomic reconstruction. The unique morphological features of the species, coupled with its restricted and fragmented habitat, highlight its potential conservation importance. We delineated the area of occupancy for N. corsicana and assessed its "threatened" category using specific IUCN Red List criteria. In addition, we mapped the available habitat within its range and determined potential key biodiversity areas (KBA) triggered by N. corsicana. New potential KBAs are only partially covered by the Corsican Regional Park. Finally, we mapped the distribution of habitats on the island to assess the potential distribution of the species beyond its currently known geographic range.

Larval morphology of the avian parasitic genus Passeromyia: playing hide and seek with a parastomal bar.

The enigmatic larvae of the Old World genus Passeromyia Rodhain & Villeneuve, 1915 (Diptera: Muscidae) inhabit the nests of birds as saprophages or as haematophagous agents of myiasis among nestlings. Using light microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, we provide the first morphological descriptions of the first, second and third instar of P. longicornis (Macquart, 1851) (Diptera: Muscidae), the first and third instar of P. indecora (Walker, 1858) (Diptera: Muscidae), and we revise the larval morphology of P. heterochaeta (Villenueve, 1915) (Diptera: Muscidae) and P. steini Pont, 1970 (Diptera: Muscidae). We provide a key to the third instar of examined species (excluding P. steini and P. veitchi Bezzi, 1928 (Diptera: Muscidae)). Examination of the cephaloskeleton revealed paired rod-like sclerites, named 'rami', between the lateral arms of the intermediate sclerite in the second and third instar larva. We reveal parastomal bars fused apically with the intermediate sclerite, the absence of which has so far been considered as apomorphic for second and third instar muscid larvae. Examination of additional material suggests that modified parastomal bars are not exclusive features of Passeromyia but occur widespread in the Muscidae, and rami may occur widespread in the Cyclorrhapha.

Monophyletic blowflies revealed by phylogenomics.

BACKGROUND: Blowflies are ubiquitous insects, often shiny and metallic, and the larvae of many species provide important ecosystem services (e.g., recycling carrion) and are used in forensics and debridement therapy. Yet, the taxon has repeatedly been recovered to be para- or polyphyletic, and the lack of a well-corroborated phylogeny has prevented a robust classification. RESULTS: We here resolve the relationships between the different blowfly subclades by including all recognized subfamilies in a phylogenomic analysis using 2221 single-copy nuclear protein-coding genes of Diptera. Maximum likelihood (ML), maximum parsimony (MP), and coalescent-based phylogeny reconstructions all support the same relationships for the full data set. Based on this backbone phylogeny, blowflies are redefined as the most inclusive monophylum within the superfamily Oestroidea not containing Mesembrinellidae, Mystacinobiidae, Oestridae, Polleniidae, Sarcophagidae, Tachinidae, and Ulurumyiidae. The constituent subfamilies are re-classified as Ameniinae (including the Helicoboscinae, syn. nov.), Bengaliinae, Calliphorinae (including Aphyssurinae, syn. nov., Melanomyinae, syn. nov., and Toxotarsinae, syn. nov.), Chrysomyinae, Luciliinae, Phumosiinae, Rhiniinae stat. rev., and Rhinophorinae stat. rev. Metallic coloration in the adult is shown to be widespread but does not emerge as the most likely ground plan feature. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides the first phylogeny of oestroid calyptrates including all blowfly subfamilies. This allows settling a long-lasting controversy in Diptera by redefining blowflies as a well-supported monophylum, and blowfly classification is adjusted accordingly. The archetypical blowfly trait of carrion-feeding maggots most likely evolved twice, and the metallic color may not belong to the blowfly ground plan.

A phylotranscriptomic framework for flesh fly evolution (Diptera, Calyptratae, Sarcophagidae).

The Sarcophagidae (flesh flies) comprise a large and widely distributed radiation within the Calyptratae (Diptera). Larval feeding habits are ecologically diverse and include sarcosaprophagy, coprophagy, herbivory, invertebrate and vertebrate predation, and kleptoparasitism. To elucidate the geographic origin and evolution of flesh fly life-history, we inferred a backbone phylogeny based on transcriptomic data from 26 sarcophagid species covering all three subfamilies plus 15 outgroups. The phylogeny was inferred using maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods based on a series of supermatrices, one set with overall information content improved by MARE (2290 loci), one set with 100% gene coverage for all included species (587 loci), and the last set including mitochondrial and nuclear genes (589 loci) and additional taxa. In order to obtain a more detailed hypothesis, we utilized the supertree approach to combine results from the present study with previously published hypotheses. This resulted supertree covers 84 of the one hundred currently recognized sarcophagid genera and formed the basis for the ancestral state reconstructions. The monophyletic Sarcophagidae is well-supported as sister to {Mystacinobiidae + Oestridae}, and relationships at the subfamily level are inferred as {Sarcophaginae, (Paramacronychiinae + Miltogramminae)}. The Sarcophagidae and each subfamily originated in the Americas, with Sarcophaginae diversifying mainly in the Neotropics, whereas the major radiation of both Miltogramminae and Paramacronychiinae occurred in the Palaearctic. Sarcosaprophagy is reconstructed as the ancestral larval feeding habit of the family Sarcophagidae and each subfamily. The ancestral sarcophagid larva probably utilized dead invertebrates as food, and the food spectrum expanded together with the diversification of breeding strategies. Particularly, kleptoparasitism in Miltogramminae is derived from sarcosaprophagy and may be seen as having derived from the breeding biology of 'lower' miltogrammines, the larvae of which feed on buried vertebrate carrion.

Wildlife collection for scientific purposes.

Illegal transfer of wildlife has 2 main purposes: trade and scientific research. Trade is the most common, whereas scientific research is much less common and unprofitable, yet still important. Biopiracy in science is often neglected despite that many researchers encounter it during their careers. The use of illegally acquired specimens is detected in different research fields, from scientists bioprospecting for new pharmacological substances, to taxonomists working on natural history collections, to researchers working in zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens. The practice can be due to a lack of knowledge about the permit requirements in different countries or, probably most often, to the generally high level of bureaucracy associated with rule compliance. Significant regulatory filters to avoid biopiracy can be provided by different stakeholders. Natural history collection hosts should adopt strict codes of conduct; editors of scientific publications should require authors to declare that all studied specimens were acquired legally and to cite museum catalog numbers as guarantee of best practices. Scientific societies should actively encourage publication in peer-reviewed journals of work in which specimens collected from the wild were used. The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature could require newly designated types based on recently collected specimens to be accompanied by statements of deposition in recognized scientific or educational institutions. We also propose the creation of an online platform that gathers information about environmental regulations and permits required for scientific activities in different countries and respective responsible governmental agencies and the simplification of the bureaucracy related to regulating scientific activities. This would make regulations more agile and easier to comply with. The global biodiversity crisis means data need to be collected ever faster, but biopiracy is not the answer and undermines the credibility of science and researchers. It is critical to find a modus vivendi that promotes compliance with regulations and scientific progress.

Recolección de Fauna con Motivos Científicos Resumen El traslado ilegal de fauna tiene dos objetivos principales: el mercado y la investigación científica. El mercado es el más común, a la vez que la investigación científica es mucho menos común y poco rentable, pero de igual manera importante. La biopiratería en la ciencia comúnmente se ignora a pesar de que muchos investigadores se encuentran con ella a lo largo de sus carreras. El uso de especímenes adquiridos ilegalmente está detectado en diferentes campos de investigación, desde los científicos que realizan bio-exploraciones en búsqueda de nuevas sustancias farmacológicas, pasando por los taxónomos que trabajan en las colecciones de historia natural, hasta los investigadores que trabajan en zoológicos, acuarios y jardines botánicos. Esta práctica puede deberse a la falta de conocimiento sobre los requerimientos de los permisos en diferentes países o, probablemente con mayor frecuencia, a la alta cantidad de burocracia asociada con el seguimiento de las reglas. Los diferentes actores pueden proporcionar filtros regulatorios importantes para evitar la biopiratería. Los dueños de las colecciones de historia natural deberían adoptar códigos estrictos de conducta; los editores de las publicaciones científicas deberían exigirle a los autores que declaren que todos los especímenes estudiados fueron adquiridos legalmente y también que citen el número de catálogo del espécimen como garantías de mejores prácticas. Las sociedades científicas deberían promover activamente la publicación en revistas revisadas por pares de los trabajos en los que se usaron especímenes recolectados en su hábitat natural. La Comisión Internacional sobre la Nomenclatura Zoológica podría requerir que la designación reciente de tipos basada en especímenes recolectados recientemente esté acompañada por declaraciones de deposición en instituciones científicas o educativas reconocidas. También proponemos la creación de una plataforma en línea que recopile la información sobre las regulaciones ambientales y los permisos requeridos para la actividad científica en diferentes países, así como las agencias gubernamentales responsables y la simplificación de la burocracia relacionada con la regulación de las actividades científicas. Ésto haría que las regulaciones sean más ágiles y su cumplimiento más fácil. La crisis mundial de biodiversidad implica que los datos necesitan ser recolectados con mayor velocidad que nunca, pero la biopiratería no es la respuesta, además de que desvirtúa la credibilidad de la ciencia y de los investigadores. Es muy importante que encontremos un modus vivendi que promueva un acuerdo entre las reglas y el progreso científico.

Phylogenomic analysis of Calyptratae: resolving the phylogenetic relationships within a major radiation of Diptera.

The Calyptratae, one of the most species-rich fly clades, only originated and diversified after the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction event and yet exhibit high species diversity and a diverse array of life history strategies including predation, phytophagy, saprophagy, haematophagy and parasitism. We present the first phylogenomic analysis of calyptrate relationships. The analysis is based on 40 species representing all calyptrate families and on nucleotide and amino acid data for 1456 single-copy protein-coding genes obtained from shotgun sequencing of transcriptomes. Topologies are overall well resolved, robust and largely congruent across trees obtained with different approaches (maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, coalescent-based species tree, four-cluster likelihood mapping). Many nodes have 100% bootstrap and jackknife support, but the true support varies by more than one order of magnitude [Bremer support from 3 to 3427; random addition concatenation analysis (RADICAL) gene concatenation size from 10 to 1456]. Analyses of a Dayhoff-6 recoded amino acid dataset also support the robustness of many clades. The backbone topology Hippoboscoidea+(Fanniidae+(Muscidae+((Anthomyiidae-Scathophagidae)+Oestroidea))) is strongly supported and most families are monophyletic (exceptions: Anthomyiidae and Calliphoridae). The monotypic Ulurumyiidae is either alone or together with Mesembrinellidae as the sister group to the rest of Oestroidea. The Sarcophagidae are sister to Mystacinobiidae+Oestridae. Polleniinae emerge as sister group to Tachinidae and the monophyly of the clade Calliphorinae+Luciliinae is well supported, but the phylogenomic data cannot confidently place the remaining blowfly subfamilies (Helicoboscinae, Ameniinae, Chrysomyinae). Compared to hypotheses from the Sanger sequencing era, many clades within the muscoid grade are congruent but now have much higher support. Within much of Oestroidea, Sanger era and phylogenomic data struggle equally with regard to finding well-supported hypotheses.

Hyperparasitism in caves: Bats, bat flies and ectoparasitic fungus interaction.

Bat flies (Diptera: Nycteribiinae) are highly specialized bloodsucking bat ectoparasites. Some of the ectoparasitic bat flies are themselves parasitized with an ectoparasitic fungus of the genus Arthrorhynchus (Laboulbeniales). Ascospores of the fungus attach to the cuticle of a bat fly and develop a haustorium that penetrates the host cuticle. This interaction defines the fungus as a hyperparasite. Both the fly and the fungus are obligate parasites and this peculiar case of hyperparasitism has remained largely unstudied. We studied the prevalence of Laboulbeniales, genus Arthrorhynchus, in natural populations of bat flies infesting the bat species Miniopterus schreibersii, Myotis bechsteinii, My. blythii, My. daubentonii, My. escalerai and My. myotis in Portuguese caves. Laboulbeniales were found infecting 10 of the 428 screened bat flies (2.3%) in natural populations, with fewer infections in winter. Images obtained with transmission electron microscopy show the fungal haustorium within the bat fly host tissue, from where it extracts nutrition.

Multilocus and multiregional phylogeny reconstruction of the genus Sarcophaga (Diptera, Sarcophagidae).

The flesh-fly genus Sarcophaga is extremely diverse and contains ca. 30% of the species in the family Sarcophagidae (∼3000 species). The phylogenetic position of the genus-group taxa Helicobia, Lipoptilocnema, and Peckia remains uncertain with respect to the hyperdiverse Sarcophaga, due to conflicting phylogenetic trees and insufficient sampling in recent studies. We present maximum-likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of 145 species of 48 subgenera of the genus Sarcophaga from all biogeographic regions based on the molecular markers COI, 28 D1-D3 expansion regions, EF1α, and white. Our analyses find (Lipoptilocnema+Peckia) as the sister group of the monophyletic Sarcophaga. The genus Helicobia is placed outside Sarcophaga. Our hypotheses suggest that the ancestor shared by Sarcophaga and its sister clade originated in the Neotropical region, and the subsequent range expansion might be related to the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. This study supports the monophyly of most of the subgenera of Sarcophaga included here, and it shows the evolution of this genus to be a rapid radiation occurring in the Nearctic region with a subsequent dispersal into the Old World. The subgeneric clusters within Sarcophaga are in agreement with the current classification, with only Mauritiella, Rosellea, Helicophagella, Liosarcophaga, and Sarcorohdendorfia being non-monophyletic. We also validate the monotypic condition of 10 subgenera.

Molecular phylogeny of Miltogramminae (Diptera: Sarcophagidae): Implications for classification, systematics and evolution of larval feeding strategies.

Miltogramminae is one of the phylogenetically most poorly studied taxa of the species-rich family Sarcophagidae (Diptera). Most species are kleptoparasites in nests of solitary aculeate wasps and bees, although parasitoids and saprophagous species are also known, and the ancestral miltogrammine life habit remains unsettled. Here, we present for the first time a comprehensive phylogenetic tree consisting of 58 representatives of Miltogramminae, reconstructed using sequence data from three mitochondrial (COI, cytB, ND4) and one nuclear (Ef-1α) genes. Our phylogenetic hypothesis suggests that: (1) Miltogramminae are sister to Paramacronychiinae, (2) Miltogramminae can be divided into the "lower miltogrammines" containing two clades of mainly saprophages and a clade of "higher miltogrammines" with mainly kleptoparasitic species, (3) only three genera turn out to be non-monophyletic: Miltogramma, Senotainia and Pterella and (4) the genus Sarcotachina, which traditionally has been considered as belonging to the Paramacronychiinae, is placed in one of the clades of "lower miltogrammines". Ancestral state reconstruction of larval feeding strategy and five larval characters reveals that the ancestor of Miltogramminae was likely a saprophage retaining plesiomorphic oral ridges and a cephaloskeleton with sclerotized dorsal bridge. Synapomorphies like large pseudocephalic sensory organs and well-developed cuticular sculpture suggest that the ancestral first instar larva actively searched for a buried food supply.

Molecular phylogeny of the hyperdiverse genus Sarcophaga (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), and comparison between algorithms for identification of rogue taxa.

The hyperdiverse genus Sarcophaga Meigen, with about 890 valid species arranged within 169 subgenera, accounts for almost half of the diversity of the subfamily Sarcophaginae. Current phylogenetic hypotheses for this genus are poorly supported or based on small taxon sets, or both. Here, we use molecular data from the genes COI and 28S to reconstruct the phylogeny of Sarcophaga based on the most comprehensive sampling for the group to date: 144 species from 47 subgenera, including representatives from all regional faunas for the first time. Of the total sequences of Sarcophaga used in the present study, 94.7% were newly generated. The secondary structure of the D1-D3 expansion segments of 28S is presented for the first time for the family Sarcophagidae, and is used in a multiple sequence alignment. Branch support and tree resolution increased remarkably through rogue taxa identification and exclusion. Rogue behaviour was explained mostly as a missing data problem. The RogueNaRok web service and the algorithms chkmoves, IterPCR and prunmajor implemented in the computer program TNT were equally good at identifying critical rogue species, but chkmoves and IterPCR also identified rogue clades. Pruning rogues increased the number of monophyletic subgenera in consensus trees from one to six out of 19 subgenera with more than one representative species. Bayesian inference, maximum-likelihood and parsimony analyses recovered more monophyletic subgenera after the removal of rogue taxa, with parsimony showing the largest improvements in branch support and resolution. Although with low support, Nearctic taxa were found to be the earliest diverging lineages, followed by a subsequent diversification of Old World faunas, which is in agreement with currently available evidence of a New World origin and early diversification of Sarcophaga.

Muscidae (Diptera) of forensic importance-an identification key to third instar larvae of the western Palaearctic region and a catalogue of the muscid carrion community.

The Muscidae is one of the main dipteran families recognized as important for medico-legal purposes. Although an association of adult flies with decomposing human and animal bodies is documented for about 200 taxa worldwide, cadavers and carrion represents a breeding habitat for considerably fewer species. Species that do colonize dead human bodies can do so under diverse environmental conditions and, under certain circumstances, Muscidae may be the only colonizers of a body. Because of difficulties in identification, many studies have identified immature and/or adult muscids only to the genus or family level. This lack of detailed species-level identifications hinders detailed investigation of their medico-legal usefulness in carrion succession-oriented experiments. Identification to species level of third instars of Muscidae of forensic importance and the utility of larval morphological characters for taxonomic purposes were subjected to an in-depth revision. A combination of characters allowing for the discrimination of third instar muscids from other forensically important dipterans is proposed. An identification key for third instar larvae, which covers the full set of cadaver-colonising species of Muscidae from the western Palaearctic (Europe, North Africa, Middle East), is provided. This key will facilitate more detailed and species-specific knowledge of the occurrence of Muscidae in forensic entomology experiments and real cases. The carrion-visiting Muscidae worldwide are catalogued, and those species breeding in animal carrion and dead human bodies are briefly discussed with regard to their forensic importance.

Hydrogen is an energy source for hydrothermal vent symbioses.

The discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in 1977 revolutionized our understanding of the energy sources that fuel primary productivity on Earth. Hydrothermal vent ecosystems are dominated by animals that live in symbiosis with chemosynthetic bacteria. So far, only two energy sources have been shown to power chemosynthetic symbioses: reduced sulphur compounds and methane. Using metagenome sequencing, single-gene fluorescence in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, shipboard incubations and in situ mass spectrometry, we show here that the symbionts of the hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge use hydrogen to power primary production. In addition, we show that the symbionts of Bathymodiolus mussels from Pacific vents have hupL, the key gene for hydrogen oxidation. Furthermore, the symbionts of other vent animals such as the tubeworm Riftia pachyptila and the shrimp Rimicaris exoculata also have hupL. We propose that the ability to use hydrogen as an energy source is widespread in hydrothermal vent symbioses, particularly at sites where hydrogen is abundant.

Third instar larvae of flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) of forensic importance--critical review of characters and key for European species.

Necrophagous Sarcophagidae are among the insects most frequently reported from human corpses. The broad forensic application of flesh flies is restricted by the lack of reliable tools for species identification of larval stages and mass breeding of collected flesh fly larvae to the adult stage, and more recently DNA-based methods are usually recommended for precise species identification. To overcome this situation, the following study was implemented: (1) original larval material was obtained of the European flesh flies of confirmed or potential forensic importance; (2) larval morphology was studied and documented using a combination of standard light microscopy, image-stacking stereomicroscopy and SEM; and (3) larval characters used in previously published keys were critically revised. The taxonomic value of the following characters was considered insignificant: (1) differences in level of sclerotisation of particular parts of the cephaloskeleton, (2) level of sclerotisation of the posterior spiracular peritreme and (3) the shape of posterior spiracular slits. A high taxonomic value was noticed for the general shape of anterior spiracles, pattern of arrangement of their lobes, and distribution and shape of spines/warts on the inter-band area of segments. Two character states-long window in the dorsal cornu of cephaloskeleton and deep spiracular cavity on anal division-are not found in the Miltogramminae and therefore cannot be considered as family-specific for the entire Sarcophagidae. As a comprehensive result of our studies, an identification key is presented for the third instar larvae of European flesh flies of forensic importance. The key is user-friendly and requires no dissections of larvae, as soaking the material in methyl salicylate will allow observation of all diagnostic details of the cephaloskeleton. A simple stereomicroscope (magnification about ×50) is sufficient for the observation of all characters presented in the key. This key may be systematically extended by the addition of species present in adjacent geographical regions.

Complete tribal sampling reveals basal split in Muscidae (Diptera), confirms saprophagy as ancestral feeding mode, and reveals an evolutionary correlation between instar numbers and carnivory.

With about 5000 species in ca. 180 genera, the Muscidae is the most species-rich family in the muscoid grade of Calyptratae (Diptera: Cyclorrhapha), the others being the Fanniidae, Scathophagidae and Anthomyiidae. Muscidae is remarkable for its young age, high species diversity in all biogeographic regions, and an unusually diverse range of feeding habits at the larval stage (e.g., saprophagy, phytophagy, carnivory, endoparasitism, haematophagy). We here review muscid classification and biology and present a molecular phylogeny based on four mitochondrial genes (12S, 16S, COI, CYTB) and three nuclear genes (28S, Ef1a, and CAD) for 84 species from 40 genera. Our analysis is the first to include species from all biogeographic regions and all currently recognised muscid subfamilies and tribes. We provide strong support for the monophyly of the Muscidae, and for the first time also for the first split within this family. The ancestral larval feeding habit is reconstructed to be saprophagy with more specialised coprophagous saprophagy, phytophagy, and carnivory evolving multiple times from saprophagous ancestors. The origins of carnivory in larvae are significantly correlated with a reduction of the number of larval instars from three (ancestral) to two and one. The genus Achanthiptera which was previously in its own subfamily is shown to be closely related to Azeliini. However, it appears that Azeliinae is paraphyletic because Muscinae is sister-group to the Azeliini while the azeliine Reinwardtiini are polyphyletic. Coenosiinae and Muscinae are monophyletic, but Muscini is paraphyletic with regard to Stomoxyini. Because many subfamilies are apparently para- or even polyphyletic, we review the history of muscid classification in order to reveal how the currently used classification originated.

Structural and Genetic Investigation of the Egg and First-Instar Larva of an Egg-Laying Population of Blaesoxipha plinthopyga (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), a Species of Forensic Importance.

Flies in the family Sarcophagidae incubate their eggs and are known to be ovoviviparous (i.e., ovolarviparous), but a laboratory-maintained colony of Blaesoxipha plinthopyga (Wiedemann) deposited clutches of viable eggs over 10 generations. A description of the egg and first-instar larva of this species is provided along with genetic data (genome size and cytochrome oxidase I sequences). The egg is similar to previously described eggs of other Sarcophagidae but differs in the configuration of the micropyle. In the first-instar larva, the oral ridges are much more developed than has been described for other species. B. plinthopyga has forensic importance, and the present descriptive information is critical for proper case management.

Episodic radiations in the fly tree of life.

Flies are one of four superradiations of insects (along with beetles, wasps, and moths) that account for the majority of animal life on Earth. Diptera includes species known for their ubiquity (Musca domestica house fly), their role as pests (Anopheles gambiae malaria mosquito), and their value as model organisms across the biological sciences (Drosophila melanogaster). A resolved phylogeny for flies provides a framework for genomic, developmental, and evolutionary studies by facilitating comparisons across model organisms, yet recent research has suggested that fly relationships have been obscured by multiple episodes of rapid diversification. We provide a phylogenomic estimate of fly relationships based on molecules and morphology from 149 of 157 families, including 30 kb from 14 nuclear loci and complete mitochondrial genomes combined with 371 morphological characters. Multiple analyses show support for traditional groups (Brachycera, Cyclorrhapha, and Schizophora) and corroborate contentious findings, such as the anomalous Deuterophlebiidae as the sister group to all remaining Diptera. Our findings reveal that the closest relatives of the Drosophilidae are highly modified parasites (including the wingless Braulidae) of bees and other insects. Furthermore, we use micro-RNAs to resolve a node with implications for the evolution of embryonic development in Diptera. We demonstrate that flies experienced three episodes of rapid radiation--lower Diptera (220 Ma), lower Brachycera (180 Ma), and Schizophora (65 Ma)--and a number of life history transitions to hematophagy, phytophagy, and parasitism in the history of fly evolution over 260 million y.

Sarcophagidae (Insecta: Diptera) of Saudi Arabia: new records, an updated checklist and a new species.

As part of a study on the biodiversity of Diptera of south-western Saudi Arabia, a survey of the Diptera fauna of Jazan, Asir and Najran at 10 sites was performed between 20122015 mainly using Malaise traps, sweep nets and baited traps. A total of 21 species of Sarcophagidae are recorded and documented with photographs, seven of which represent new country records for Saudi Arabia. Including species with a reliable previous record from Saudi Arabia, the total number of species of Sarcophagidae known from Saudi Arabia now stands at 51. All species of Sarcophagidae recorded from Saudi Arabia are listed, including distributions and the source where species were first recorded. Material studied as part of the project resulted in 16 new country records for other countries. Alusomyia Villeneuve, 1933 is here synonymized with Hoplacephala Macquart, 1834, syn. nov., argued from the presence of four proclinate orbital bristles, the row of strong parafacial setae close to the anteroventral eye-margin, the large gena and the robust habitus compared to most other miltogrammines. The generic synonomy requires the new combinations Hoplacephala transfuga (Villeneuve, 1933), comb. nov. and Hoplacephala turana (Rohdendorf, 1975), comb. nov. Sarcophaga surcoufi Villeneuve, 1913 is synonymized with Engelisca adhamae Lehrer & Abou-Zied, 2008, syn. nov. An appendix authored by Dr J.C. Deeming contains the description of Sarcophaga dawahi Deeming, sp. nov.

Unusual rearrangements of mitogenomes in Diptera revealed by comparative analysis of 135 tachinid species (Insecta, Diptera, Tachinidae).

The Tachinidae is one of the most speciose families in Diptera, and the exclusively parasitoid species play an important role in regulating populations of many herbivorous insects in ecosystems, including many agricultural pests. To better comprehend the characteristics and evolution of the mitochondrial genome for the Tachinidae, we are adding a massive amount of new molecular data by assembling the mitogenomes for 71 genera and 135 species from all four tachinid subfamilies through next-generation sequencing, and we are presenting the most comprehensive mitogenomic phylogenetic analysis of this family so far. Extensive rearrangements observed in the mitogenome of Admontia podomyia (Exoristinae) are unique for the entire suborder Cyclorrhapha. The rearrangement pattern suggests that the process involved a tandem duplication of the complete mitogenome, followed by both random and nonrandom loss of one copy of each gene. Additionally, five minor mitogenome rearrangements are discovered and described in three subfamilies. We present the largest species-level phylogenetic hypothesis for Tachinidae to date, based on mitogenomes of 152 species of Tachinidae, representing all four subfamilies and with five non-tachinid outgroups. Our analyses support the monophyly of the Tachinidae and most tribes and genera were recovered with good support, but the higher-level phylogenetic relationships within Tachinidae were poorly resolved, indicating that mitogenome data alone are not enough to unambiguously resolve the deeper phylogenetic relationships within Tachinidae.