Phylogenomic analysis of Tachinidae (Diptera: Calyptratae: Oestroidea): a transcriptomic approach to understanding the subfamily relationships.

Tachinidae is the second most species-rich family of Diptera. It comprises four subfamilies, and all of its members have parasitoid habits. We present the first phylogenomic analysis of Tachinidae using transcriptomic data, based on 30 species. We constructed four datasets: three using translated data at the amino acid level (100% coverage, with 106 single-copy protein-coding genes; 75% coverage, with 1359 genes; and 50% coverage, with 1942 genes). The trees were estimated by analysing four matrices using maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony inferences, and only minor differences were found among them. Overall, our topologies are well resolved, with high node support. Polleniidae is corroborated as a sister group to Tachinidae. Within Tachinidae, our results confirm the hypothesis (Phasiinae + Dexiinae) + (Tachininae + Exoristinae). Phasiinae, Dexiinae and Exoristinae are recovered as monophyletic, and Tachininae as polyphyletic. Once again, the tribe Myiophasiini (Tachininae) composes a fifth lineage, clade sister to all the remaining Tachinidae. The Neotropical tribe Iceliini, formerly in Tachininae, is recovered within Exoristinae, sister to Winthemiini. In general, our results are congruent with recent phylogenetic studies that include tachinids, with the important confirmation of the subfamilial relationships and the existence of a fifth lineage of Tachinidae.

Taxonomic revision of the genus Trichopoda Berthold, 1827 (Diptera: Tachinidae: Phasiinae), with emphasis on the Neotropical fauna.

Trichopoda Berthold, 1827 is a tachinid genus belonging to the subfamily Phasiinae and natively distributed in the Americas. Species of Phasiinae are parasitoids of Hemiptera, especially Heteroptera, and are greatly important as biological control agents. Trichopoda is included in the "Trichopoda typica" group sensu Sabrosky, along with the genera Eutrichopoda Townsend, 1908 and Ectophasiopsis Townsend, 1915a. The genus Trichopoda includes several nominal species, many of which have been synonymized, whereas others have been transferred to different genera. Even though the group is morphologically remarkable for its bright colors and feather-like setae on the hind tibia and is important from an agricultural point of view, there have been no revisionary works dealing with its species. Before the present study, 22 valid species were included in Trichopoda, divided into two subgenera: Galactomyia Townsend, 1908 and Trichopoda s. str. In the current study, 25 species of Trichopoda are considered valid, of which twelve are described as new: Trichopoda (Galactomyia) auricauda sp. n., T. (G.) castannea sp. n., T. (G.) curvicercus sp. n., T. (G.) dupuisi sp. n., T. (G.) elongata sp. n., T. (G.) eupilipes sp. n., T. (G.) goiana sp. n., T. (G.) splendida sp. n., T. (G.) tenebrosa sp. n., T. (G.) tschorsnigi sp. n., T. (G.) urucurytuba sp. n. and T. (Trichopoda) sabroskyi sp. n. We also propose two new synonymies: Trichopoda (Galactomyia) giacomellii (Blanchard, 1966) syn. n. of T. (G.) pennipes (Fabricius, 1781) and T. (G.) nigripes Wulp, 1892 syn. n. of T. (G.) pennipes (Fabricius, 1781); the synonymies of T. ciliata (Fabricius, 1805) and T. haitensis Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 with T. (G.) pennipes (Fabricius, 1781) are confirmed. We resurrect one species, T. (Galactomyia) limbata (Blanchard, 1966), which was previously synonymized under T. giacomellii (= T. pennipes). We also propose two new subgeneric combinations: T. alipes Wulp, 1892 and T. squamipes Wulp, 1892 are moved from the subgenus Galactomyia to the subgenus Trichopoda. The species aurantiaca Townsend, 1891 is considered as unrecognized within the genus Trichopoda, whereas T. mexicana Macquart, 1846 and T. subcilipes Macquart, 1844 are considered incertae sedis within the tribe Gymnosomatini. Three species are removed from the genus Trichopoda and placed in the genus Homogenia Wulp, 1892: Homogenia apicalis (Wiedemann, 1830), comb. n., H. decisa (Walker, 1853), comb. n. and H. luteipennis (Wiedemann, 1830), comb. n. We provide an identification key to Trichopoda species; due to lack of material, T. flava Röder, 1885 was not included in the key. The compositions of the two subgenera of Trichopoda are redefined for the Neotropical species, whereby all species previously placed in the subgenus Trichopoda by Guimarães, with the exception of T. alipes Wulp, 1892, T. indivisa Townsend, 1897 and T. squamipes, are transferred to the subgenus Galactomyia. On the other hand, the subgeneric placement of the Nearctic species stays the same. We also comment on and try to clarify possible misidentifications, notably for use of species in biological control programs. We present photographs of males and females of all examined species, as well as illustrations of almost all male and female terminalia.

A new synonym for Zelia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera, Tachinidae), the genus Opsozelia Townsend, 1919, with the description of three new species.

The monotypic tachinid genus Opsozelia Townsend, 1919 (Diptera: Tachinidae) is synonymized with ZeliaRobineau-Desvoidy 1830, syn. nov. The single species of Opsozelia, O. discalis Townsend, 1919, is redescribed as Zelia discalis, comb. nov., based on examination of the holotype from Guyana and additional material from Suriname, Brazil and Paraguay. Three new species of Zelia similar to Z. discalis are described from Brazil: Z. magna sp. nov., Z. guimaraesi sp. nov. and Z. formosa sp. nov. These four species are treated informally as the Zelia discalis species group. An identification key to the species of this species group is provided based on male specimens. Descriptions and illustrations are provided for the male terminalia of all species and for the female terminalia of one species, Z. guimaraesi.

The SISBIOTA-Diptera Brazilian Network: A long-term survey of Diptera from unexplored Brazilian Western Arc of Amazon, Cerrado, and Pantanal

ABSTRACT The SISBIOTA-BRASIL was a three-year multimillion-dollar research program of the Brazilian government to document plants and animals in endangered/understudied areas and biomes in Brazil. Distributional patterns and the historical events that generated them are extensively unknown regarding Brazilian fauna and flora. This deficiency hinders the development of conservation policies and the understanding of evolutionary processes. Conservation decisions depend on precise knowledge of the taxonomy and geographic distribution of species. Given such a premise, we proposed to research the diversity of Diptera of the Brazilian western arc of Amazon, Cerrado, and Pantanal in the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Rondônia. Three important biomes of the South American continent characterize these Brazilian states: Amazon forest, Cerrado (Brazilian Savannah), and Pantanal. Besides their ecological relevance, these biomes historically lack intensive entomological surveys. Therefore, they are much underrepresented in the Brazilian natural history collections and in the scientific literature, which is further aggravated by the fact that these areas are being exponentially and rapidly converted to commercial lands. Our project involved over 90 collaborators from 24 different Brazilian institutions and one from Colombia among researchers, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students, and technicians. We processed and analyzed nearly 300,000 specimens from ~60 families of Diptera collected with a large variety of methods in the sampled areas. Here, we provide a detailed overview of the genera and species diversity of 41 families treated. Our results point to a total of 2,130 species and 514 genera compiled and identified for the three states altogether, with an increase of 41% and 29% in the numbers of species and genera known for the three states combined, respectively. Overall, the 10 most species-rich families were Tachinidae, Cecidomyiidae, Tabanidae, Psychodidae, Sarcophagidae, Stratiomyidae, Bombyliidae, Syrphidae, Tephritidae, and Asilidae. The 10 most diverse in the number of genera were Tachinidae, Stratiomyidae, Asilidae, Mycetophilidae, Syrphidae, Tabanidae, Muscidae, Dolichopodidae, Sarcophagidae, and Chloropidae. So far, 111 scientific papers were published regarding taxonomic, phylogenetic, and biogeographical aspects of the studied families, with the description of 101 new species and three new genera. We expect that additional publications will result from this investigation because several specimens are now curated and being researched by specialists.

A remarkable new species of Eutrichopoda Townsend, 1908 (Diptera: Tachinidae: Phasiinae).

A new Tachinidae species, Eutrichopoda flavipenna sp. nov. (Diptera: Tachinidae: Phasiinae), from Brazil and Paraguay is described and illustrated by photographs and line drawings. The remarkable yellow, feather-like setae on the hind tibia distinguishes the new species from all other species in the tribe Trichopodini.