Two New Mitogenomes of Bibionidae and Their Comparison within the Infraorder Bibionomorpha (Diptera).

Despite the worldwide distribution and rich diversity of the infraorder Bibionomorpha in Diptera, the characteristics of mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) are still little-known, and the phylogenetics and evolution of the infraorder remains controversial. In the present study, we report complete and annotated mitogenome sequences of Penthetria simplioipes and Plecia hardyi representing Bibionidae. This is the first report of the complete mitogenomes for the superfamily Bibionoidea. There are 37 genes in each of the complete mitogenomes of all 20 studied species from eight families of four superfamilies within infraorder Bibionomorpha. The Ka/Ks analysis suggests that all 13 PCGs have undergone purifying selection. The gene rearrangement events exist in some families (Keroplatidae, Sciaridae, and Cecidomyiidae) but not in Mycetophilidae in Sciaroidea and also in Scatopsoidea, Anisopodoidea, and Bibionoidea, which suggests that these rearrangement events are derived in the late period in the evolution of the Bibionomorpha. The phylogenetic analysis suggests the phylogenetic relationships of Scatopsoidea + (Anisopodoidea + (Bibionoidea + Sciaroidea)) in Bibionomorpha. The divergence time analysis suggests that Bibionomorpha originated in the Triassic, Scatopsoidea and Anisopodoidea in the late Triassic, Bibionoidea in the Jurassic, and Sciaroidea in the Jurassic to the Cretaceous. The work lays a base for the study of mitogenomes in Bibionomorpha but further work and broader taxon sampling are necessary for a better understanding of the phylogenetics and evolution of the infraorder.

Characterization of the mitochondrial genomes of Bradysia hygida, Phytosciara flavipes and Trichosia splendens (Diptera: Sciaridae) and novel insights on the control region of sciarid mitogenomes.

Sciarids, also called "fungus gnats" are small, almost entirely dark-coloured insects. Sciarid larvae feed on different substrates and can infest agricultural crops and mushroom nurseries, causing economic losses. Of the 2174 Diptera mitogenome sequences currently available in GenBank, only eight are from the Sciaridae family, none of which are complete circular molecules. Here we describe the mitogenome sequences of three sciarid species: Phytosciara flavipes, Trichosia splendens and Bradysia hygida and provide novel insights on the control region of sciarid mitogenomes. The assembled mitogenomes range from 16,062 bp in P. flavipes to 17,095 bp in B. hygida. All 13 protein coding genes, 22 tRNAs and 2 rRNAs characteristic of insect mitogenomes were identified, but the sequence of the control region could not be determined. Experimental results suggest that the B. hygida control region is about 21 kb long resulting in a 37 kb long mitogenome which constitutes the largest insect mitochondrial genome described so far. Phylogenetic analysis using all Bibionomorpha mitogenome sequences available in GenBank strongly supports the Sciaridae monophyly and led to the identification of species and subfamily specific gene rearrangements. Our study extends the knowledge of this large and diverse insect family that includes agricultural pest species.

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.

Extant Genus in the Mesozoic: Paleoplatyura Meunier (Diptera: Keroplatidae) Found in the Cretaceous Amber of Myanmar.

Three new species of Paleoplatyura Meunier, 1899, i.e., Paleoplatyura agnieszkae sp. nov., P. miae sp. nov., and P. magnifica sp. nov., are described and figured. The concept of the genus is briefly discussed, and its systematic position is clarified. A key to fossil species is provided. The genus Paleoplatyura is described from the Eocene Baltic amber. It is concluded that, in Baltic amber, this group is represented only by the type species, and the identity of the other two species is problematic. No additional specimens have been found so far in this amber. Therefore, the presence of as many as three new species in Burmese amber, certainly belonging to Paleoplatyura, is a confirmation of its occurrence already in the Mesozoic.

Cabamofa orientalis sp. nov. from Thailand, congeneric with C. mira Jaschhof from Costa Rica (Diptera: Bibionomorpha: Sciaroidea incertae sedis).

The genus Cabamofa, previously containing only C. mira from Costa Rica (Jaschhof 2005), is shown here to have a second species in Thailand, which is described and named C. orientalis sp. nov. The new species is known from a single male collected by the TIGER Project (Thailand Inventory Group for Entomological Research), a mass-sampling program to inventory insect diversity in Southeast Asia (Plant et al. 2011; http://sharkeylab.org/tiger, accessed 14 December 2018). As the circumstances of finding indicate, C. orientalis is a decidedly rare species, an attribute applying to perhaps one third of all tropical arthropods (Lim et al. 2012) and most Sciaroidea incertae sedis (Jaschhof 2017), including the Costa Rican C. mira. The latter species was originally described from two females, which were Malaise trapped in 2003 in lowland rain forest (Jaschhof 2005), while a conspecific male, a museum specimen collected in 1922 in an unknown habitat, was detected and described subsequently (Amorim Rindal 2007). Cabamofa is one of nearly 20 sciaroid genera whose family affiliation has not yet been resolved (Jaschhof 2017), but there is morphological evidence suggesting its close affinity to other Sciaroidea incertae sedis, such as Rogambara Jaschhof, 2005, Ohakunea Tonnoir Edwards, 1927, and Colonomyia Colless, 1963. These four genera together form the Ohakunea group of Jaschhof (2005), or the Ohakuneinae (as a subfamily of the broadly conceived family Rangomaramidae) of Amorim Rindal (2007). Recent molecular work (Sevcík et al. 2016, Kasprák et al. 2019) suggests a more distant phylogenetic position of Ohakunea to other Sciaroidea incertae sedis. The obvious conflict here between morphological and molecular evidence is stimulating fresh interest in the "incertae sedis issue", as proven by the present contribution. The morphology of C. orientalis provides no new clues as to the systematic position of Cabamofa, or the Ohakunea group, but reveals characters that were previously not known to occur in Cabamofa. The delimitation of this genus is briefly reviewed below. Our finding of C. orientalis extends the geographic distribution of Cabamofa from the New World to the Old World (Oriental) tropics, which consorts with the disjunct (Neotropical-Australasian) areas found in both Colonomyia and Ohakunea. Morphological terminology used here is in accordance with that by Cumming Wood (2017).

A Revision of the Holarctic Genus Rocetelion Matile (Diptera: Keroplatidae).

The Holarctic genus Rocetelion Matile is revised and three species are recognized; R. fenestrale (Fisher), R. fasciola (Coquillett), and R. humerale (Zetterstedt). Rocetelion fasciatum (Garrett) is proposed as a new junior synonym of R. fasciola. A new key, photographs of all species, and characters of the male and female terminalia are provided. The presence/absence of an antennal apicule was found to vary intraspecifically, thus making this character unreliable for distinguishing species in this genus.

Proposal of a new subfamily of Sciaridae (Diptera: Sciaridae), with description of one new species from South Korea.

Here we propose a new monophyletic subfamily, the Chaetosciarinae, based on previous morphological cladistic and molecular phylogenetic studies. This new subfamily includes the genera Chaetosciara Frey, Mouffetina Frey, Schwenckfeldina Frey, and Scythropochroa Enderlein. We also provide a definition of the new subfamily Chaetosciarinae and describe common morphological key characters. Three Korean Chaetosciarinae species in three genera are reported, all of which are new to Korea and one (Scythropochroa pseudoquercicola sp. nov.) of which is new to science. A previous molecular phylogenetic study designated Scy. pseudoquercicola as an unidentified species. Our study provides examined species information for members of this new subfamily to accompany the GenBank accession numbers published by a previous molecular phylogenetic study. Furthermore, we present a multigene molecular phylogenetic analysis for the Chaetosciarinae.

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.

A new species of Docosia Winnertz from Central Europe, with DNA barcoding based on four gene markers (Diptera, Mycetophilidae).

A new species of Docosia Winnertz, Docosia dentata sp. n., is described and illustrated, based on a single male specimen collected in Muránska planina National Park in Central Slovakia. DNA sequences (COI, COII, CytB, and ITS2) are included and compared for 13 species of Docosia. There was found only little congruence between the molecular results and previous scarce data about interspecific relationships based on morphology. The COI and CytB gene markers showed the highest interspecific gene distances while ITS2 showed the lowest ones. An updated key to the 23 Central European species of Docosia is also presented.