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.

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.