Cladistic analysis of the genus Dichaetophora Duda (Diptera: Drosophilidae) and a revised classification

Abstract

AbstractPhylogenetic relationships among the genus Dichaetophora, the genus Nesiodrosophila and the Lordiphosa tenuicauda species-group and some possibly related genera of Drosophilinae were analyzed in this study using 30 morphological characters derived from 34 species. It is concluded that the three taxa constitute a monophyletic group, within which three monophyletic groups are recognized: Dichaetophora + Nesiodrosophila comprise a monophyletic group, while the L. tenuicauda group is divided into two monophyletic groups. This clade is revised as the genus Dichaetophora, with its three constituent monophyletic groups treated as new specis-groups: the agbo, the tenuicauda and the acutissima groups. Nesiodrosophila becomes a junior synonym. A key to the species-groups is provided.