Molecular and morphological approaches redefine the limits among polymorphic species in the Neotropical longhorn beetle genus, Myzomorphus Sallé (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae).

Myzomorphus Sallé is a charismatic genus of prionine longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) composed of nine species. Myzomorphus species are found from Costa Rica to southern Brazil, but only two species have wide distributions across this range: M. scutellatus Sallé from Costa Rica to northern Brazil, and M. quadripunctatus (Gray) from Colombia to southern Brazil. These species are highly polymorphic and their limits are difficult to determine due to their strong morphological similarities--males are only distinguishable by subtle size variations and females by color patterns. Here, we used mitochondrial DNA (cox1 and 12S) to reconstruct the first phylogeny of Myzomorphus and, in combination with morphological data, assess the taxonomic limits between M. scutellatus and M. quadripunctatus. Our phylogenetic results confirm the monophyly of Myzomorphus and reveal a close relationship among M. birai, M. quadripunctatus and M. scutellatus. Using pairwise distance estimations, we found that the intraspecific variation of M. quadripunctatus is remarkably high (K2P: 0-11.7%; p-distances: 0-9.7%) and the interspecific distances of M. quadripunctatus in relation to M. birai and M. scutellatus (K2P: 14.8-20.1%; p-distances: 12-15%) are close to the intraspecific distances of M. quadripunctatus. We further analyzed the diagnostic characters of these species and found that their morphological intraspecific variations largely overlap. Altogether, our results demonstrate that the variability of M. birai, M. scutellatus and M. quadripunctatus represent polymorphisms of a single species. We thus argue for the synonymy of M. birai and M. scutellatus under M. quadripunctatus (syn. nov.) and highlight the need for multiple lines of evidence to solve the taxonomic problems in polymorphic species of Cerambycidae.

Neriidae (Diptera: Schizophora) from Mexico: new species, new records and an identification key.

We conducted a study of material from the Colección de Artrópodos de Referencia Forense, UNAM (CARF), Colección Nacional de Insectos, UNAM (CNIN) and Colección de Insectos del Bosque Seco, Estación de Biología Chamela, UNAM (EBCH), which revealed three new distributional records of cactus flies species in Mexico as follows: Cerantichir enderleini (Hennig, 1937), Eoneria blanchardi Aczél, 1951, and Glyphidops durus (Cresson, 1926). This study also described two new species: Cerantichir mexicana Gomes & Sepúlveda and Eoneria ramirezi Gomes & Sepúlveda. We update the distribution records of the cactus flies (Neriidae) distributed in Mexico. The list of species includes: Glyphidops filosus (Fabricius, 1805), Glyphidops flavifrons (Bigot, 1886), Glyphidops filosus (Fabricius, 1805), Glyphidops xanthopus (Schiner, 1868), Nerius pilifer Fabricius, 1805, Nerius plurivittatus Bigot, 1886, Nerius purpusianus Enderlein, 1922, Odontoloxozus longicornis (Coquillett, 1904), and Odontoloxozus pachycericola Mangan & Baldwin, 1986. This study increases the number of species known to occur in Mexico from eight to 13.

Psyllotoxus griseocinctus Thomson, 1868 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae): a potential pest of roses in Brazil revealed by its lifecycle and niche modeling.

We present the first formal record of the twig-girdler Psyllotoxus griseocinctus Thomson, 1868 (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae: Onciderini) attacking the rose, Rosa sp. (Rosaceae) in Southern Brazil. We provide photographs of the damage P. griseocinctus causes to the plant, as well as morphological descriptions of the immature stages and molecular diagnostic tools to identify this species. Additionally, we provide a modelled map with the known and potential distribution of P. griseocinctus and new host records for three plant species: the common walnut tree, Juglans regia L. (Juglandaceae); the cambucá tree, Plinia edulis (Vell.) Sobral (Myrtaceae); and the cherry tree, Prunus cf. serrulata Lindl. (Rosaceae).

New species of Chaetonerius Hendel (Diptera: Neriidae) and key for identification of the Neriidae of Tanzania.

Chaetonerius Hendel is the only native genus of Neriidae from the African continent, with 21 species described. Although widely distributed across the Afrotropical region, the species of Chaetonerius are still poorly known and recent efforts are being devoted to clarify the taxonomy of the family and discover its diversity. Here, we describe a new neriid species from Tanzania, Chaetonerius stichodactylus sp. n. Illustrations of the male holotype, including the external and internal genitalia, are presented and a key for the species of Neriidae of Tanzania is provided.

Chaetonerius Hendel (Neriidae: Diptera) from the East African islands with description of four new species from Madagascar and the Comoros.

Except for the introduced species, Telostylinus lineolatus Wiedemann, all Neriidae occurring in the Ethiopian Region belong to the genus Chaetonerius Hendel and only one species, C. alluaudi (Giglio-Tos), is known from the East African islands, described from Seychelles and also recorded for Madagascar and Mauritius. Herein, we describe four new species of Chaetonerius from the East African islands, including the first species of Neriidae from the Comoros (C. kotrbae sp. n.) and three new species from Madagascar (C. ebejeri sp. n., C. kirkspriggsi sp. n. and C. madagasikara sp. n.). Additionally, a redescription of C. alluaudi (Giglio-Tos) with new record for Réunion and a key for identification of Chaetonerius from the East African islands are provided.

A new species of Chaetonerius Hendel (Diptera: Neriidae) from Northeast Madagascar.

A new species of Ethiopian Neriidae, Chaetonerius serratus sp. n., is described from Madagascar. Differential characters are provided along with photographs and illustrations of the type material, including details of the male genitalia. The key for identification of Chaetonerius Hendel from the East African islands provided by Sepúlveda de Carvalho (2019) is modified to include the new species.

Revision of the New World genus Glyphidops Enderlein (Diptera: Neriidae) .

The genus Glyphidops Enderlein, 1922, the most widespread and speciose of the New World genera of Neriidae (Diptera), is revised herein. Glyphidops (Glyphidops) ruselatus, new species, G. (G.) steyskali, new species and G. (G.) coracinus, new species are described. Of the 16 previously described species, which were last treated by Aczél (1961), the following synonyms are proposed: Chaetomeristes peruanus Enderlein is treated as a junior synonym of G. (G.) bullatus (Enderlein); Nerius dispar Cresson, Oncopsia neutra Hennig and Oncopsia dubia Hennig are treated as junior synonyms of G.(O.) durus (Cresson) and Oncopsia seductrix Hennig, is treated as a junior synonym of G. (O.) flavifrons (Bigot). The species Telostylus vittatus Cresson, is removed from synonymy with G. (G.) filosus (Fabricius) and revalidated as senior synonym of G. ochreus Hennig. A new diagnosis for the genus and all species are provided, as is an identification key to species. New locality records are provided for Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Ecuador and Brazil.

Revision of the Neotropical genus Eoneria Aczél (Diptera: Neriidae) with description of a new species from Colombia.

Here we revise Eoneria Aczdl, 1951, a small genus of flies in the Neriidae, previously known from two species from Argentina. We describe a new species, E. aczeli Sepúlveda & Carvalho from Colombia, provide new records from Brazil, a distribution extension from Argentina and a new genus diagnosis, as well as an identification key based on adult morphology.