Systematics of the Porricondylines (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) with particular emphasis on the Brazilian Fauna

• Autor(a) principal: Garcia, Carolina de Almeida
• Data de Publicação: 2024
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Texto Completo: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/38/38131/tde-15042024-153232/
• topic: Análise Cladística; Biodiversidade; Biodiversity; Cladistic Analysis; Fungivores; Fungívoros; Neotropical Region, Porricondylinae; Reclassificação Taxonômica; Região Neotropical, Porricondylinae; Taxonomic Reclassification; Winnertziinae; Winnertziinae

The porricondylines include 880 fungivore species into 118 genera distributed in two subfamilies, Porricondylinae and Winnertziinae. The known species are primarily distributed in the Palearctic region, constituting 75% of their global distribution. Within the Neotropical region, 48 species from 15 genera of porricondylines contribute to this diversity. Brazil hosts species from only five genera: Bryocrypta, Cassidoides, Claspettomyia, Porricondyla, and Haplusia. Despite their prevalence in the Palearctic region, the Neotropical region lacks comprehensive research and experts in non-gall midges, leading to uncertainties about their distribution. The larvae of this group are known for their saproxylic or oligophagous mycelium-feeding habits and thrive in diverse environments. Adult porricondylines exhibit distinctive behaviors, including roosting in spider webs, inhabiting leaf litter, and forming swarms near the ground. A total of 116 male specimens belonging to the subfamilies Porricondylinae and Winnertziinae were obtained from insect samples collected in Malaise traps that are stored in the Diptera collections of the Museu de Zoologia and Faculdade de Filosofia de Ribeirão Preto, both belonging to the Universidade de São Paulo, and the Universidade Federal de Góias. The samples comprise five countries of the Neotropical Region: Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Paraguay. In the case of Brazil, 19 States were covered. To place the new taxa a cladistic analysis based on the male morphology was conducted. The sampling resulted in 97 discrete characters for analysis. Additionally, a previously accepted classification of Porricondylinae and Winnertziinae was reexamined in this study, revealing that the composition of these subfamilies, as they are currently considered in the literature, is non-monophyletic. The analysis proposes a reclassification, resulting in four distinct subfamilies: Heteropezinae, Diallactiinae, Winnertziinae, and Porricondylinae, supported by high Relative Bremer values (89, 60, 47, and 74, respectively). This study also corroborates Cecidomyiinae as the sister group of a tribe of Porricondylinae, highlighting the need to continue investigating the relationship of these two subfamilies. The results of the phylogenetic analysis showed that all the specimens in the study belong to 72 new species and 30 new genera. Among them, 36 species are classified into nine genera that were previously known. This research contributes to understanding the diversity of the porricondylines in Brazil, shedding light on their distribution and evolutionary relationships.