The Genus Spinopygina gen. nov. (Diptera, Sciaridae) from Western North America: Preliminary Molecular Phylogeny and Description of Seven New Species.

The genus Spinopygina gen. nov. (type species Camptochaeta uniceps Hippa & Vilkamaa, 1994) from western North America is described. The genus includes the following eight species: Spinopygina acerfalx sp. nov.; S. aurifera sp. nov.; S. camura sp. nov.; S. edura sp. nov.; S. peltata sp. nov.; S. plena sp. nov.; S. quadracantha sp. nov.; and S. uniceps (Hippa & Vilkamaa, 1994) comb. nov., transferred from Corynoptera Winnertz. The new species are described and Spinopygina uniceps is re-diagnosed. The species are keyed and illustrated. In the maximum-likelihood phylogenetic hypothesis based on four gene fragments (28S, 18S, 16S and COI), Spinopygina gen. nov. appears as the sister group of Claustropyga Hippa, Vilkamaa & Mohrig, 2003. In the same analysis, a remarkable, undescribed species is placed within Camptochaeta Hippa & Vilkamaa clade.

Just a Fragment of Undescribed Diversity: Twenty New Oriental and Palearctic Species of Sciaroidea (Diptera), including DNA Sequence Data and Two New Fossil Genera.

The following 17 extant new species of Sciaroidea (Diptera: Bibionomorpha) are described: Bolitophila nikolae Sevcík sp. nov. (Bolitophilidae, Taiwan), Catocha jingfui sp. nov. (Cecidomyiidae, Taiwan), Catocha manmiaoe sp. nov. (Cecidomyiidae, Taiwan), Catocha shengfengi sp. nov. (Cecidomyiidae, Taiwan), Planetella taiwanensis sp. nov. (Cecidomyiidae, Taiwan), Diadocidia pseudospinusola sp. nov. (Diadocidiidae, Taiwan), Asioditomyia bruneicola sp. nov. (Ditomyiidae, Brunei), Asioditomyia lacii sp. nov. (Ditomyiidae, Taiwan), Ditomyia asiatica sp. nov. (Ditomyiidae, Thailand), Chetoneura davidi sp. nov. (Keroplatidae, Brunei), Euceroplatus mantici sp. nov. (Keroplatidae, Thailand), Setostylus fangshuoi sp. nov. (Keroplatidae, Taiwan), Platyceridion yunfui sp. nov. (Keroplatidae, Hainan), Terocelion adami sp. nov. (Keroplatidae, Taiwan), Hadroneura martini sp. nov. (Mycetophilidae, Taiwan), Paratinia furcata sp. nov. (Mycetophilidae, Czech Republic, Slovakia), and Nepaletricha sikorai sp. nov. (Sciaroidea incertae sedis, Thailand). Two new genera are described from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, Burmasymmerus gen. nov. (Ditomyiidae, type species Burmasymmerus korneliae sp. nov., including also B. wieslawi sp. nov.), representing the first record of the family Ditomyiidae from the Mesozoic, and Burmatricha gen. nov. (Sciaroidea incertae sedis, type species Burmatricha mesozoica sp. nov.). Molecular phylogeny of Ditomyiidae, based on two DNA markers (28S, COI), as well as that of Catocha Haliday, 1833, based on the mitochondrial COI and 16S fragments, are also presented.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Comprehensive Molecular Phylogeny of Keroplatidae and Lygistorrhinidae (Diptera) Reveals Parallel Evolution and Leads to a Revised Family Classification.

We provide the first molecular phylogeny of Keroplatidae and Lygistorrhinidae, families of fungus gnats (Diptera: Bibionomorpha: Sciaroidea). Phylogenies reconstructed by Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian methods, based on four nuclear and four mitochondrial gene markers (5106 base pairs) sequenced for 75 genera and 105 species, show Keroplatidae as monophyletic only with the family Lygistorrhinidae included, herewith treated as the subfamily Lygistorrhininae stat. nov. The subfamily Arachnocampinae is retained in the family, although lowering its overall support. An early branching clade, comprising species of Platyura Meigen, 1803 and Paleoplatyura melanderi Fisher, 1941, forms subfamily Platyurinae Loew, 1850 stat. nov. The subfamilies Sciarokeroplatinae and Macrocerinae grouped together with three genera considered here as Keroplatidae incertae sedis. Subfamily Lygistorrhininae forms a sister clade to subfamily Keroplatinae, both retained monophyletic with high support. The traditional division of the subfamily Keroplatinae into the tribes Orfeliini and Keroplatini appears as outdated, resting largely on adaptive characters prone to parallel evolution. We find support for an alternative tribe corresponding to the Cloeophoromyia-Asindulum genus group, but a tribal reclassification of the Keroplatinae is left for future studies. The genus Heteropterna Skuse, 1888 is considered as identical with Ctenoceridion Matile, 1972 syn. nov.

Phylogenetic position of Aerumnosa Mohrig (Diptera, Sciaridae) as revealed by multigene analysis, with the description of four new Oriental species.

Four Oriental species of Aerumnosa Mohrig, 1999 (Diptera: Sciaridae), a genus previously known only from Papua New Guinea, are newly described and illustrated: Aerumnosa bituberculata sp. n. (India), A. gemmifera sp. n. (Malaysia: Sabah), A. horrifica sp. n. (Brunei, Thailand) and A. impar sp. n. (Malaysia: Sabah). On the basis of the new material, the genus is redefined. A key to the known species of Aerumnosa is presented, including four new species. An updated molecular phylogenetic analysis based on four gene markers (18S, 28S, 16S and COI) shows Aerumnosa to be a member of the subfamily Cratyninae. The monophyly of Cratyninae is well supported, which clade also includes the genera Hyperlasion Schmitz, 1919, Pnyxiopalpus Vilkamaa Hippa, 1999 and Pseudoaerumnosa Rudzinski, 2006. According to the present phylogenetic hypothesis, the monophyly of Cratyna Winnertz, 1967 s. l. needs to be revisited. The clade including Cratyna (s. str.) ambigua (Lengersdorf, 1934) appears as the sister group of Aerumnosa.