Updating the taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of the aberrant genus Coenosopsia Malloch (Diptera: Anthomyiidae)

Abstract

Abstract Coenosopsia Malloch has eight known species distributed from southern North America to south-eastern South America. The species of the genus are morphologically very homogeneous, and major differences remain in male terminalia. Remarkably, two of the main diagnostic characteristics of Anthomyiidae are absent in this genus: the setulae on the ventral surface of the scutellum and vein A1 reaching the wing margin. Some studies have attempted to propose biogeographical narratives, primarily for the Neotropical distribution of the genus. Herein, we describe three new species of Coenosopsia from north-eastern Brazil (Coenosopsia limeirai sp. nov.), southern Brazil (Coenosopsia ribeiroi sp. nov.), and central Mexico (Coenosopsia azteca sp. nov.) and present an identification key. In addition, we present an updated phylogenetic analysis based on morphological evidence, which recovered Coenosopsia as monophyletic based on five synapomorphies and four homoplasies. We also presented the first biogeographical hypothesis of Coenosopsia based on biogeographic methods (ancestral reconstruction character and S-DIVA analyses), which indicated a Mesoamerican origin of the genus.