Aspects of European Argyra systematics : molecular insights and morphology (Diptera: Dolichopodidae)

Abstract

We focused on systematic aspects of some of the most common European Argyra species. Bayesian and Maximum Parsimony analyses were performed, using three mitochondrial markers (COI, 12S, and 16S) with ten Argyra species as the ingroup, and three other Diaphorinae as an outgroup. The topology of the trees derived from the two analyses was slightly different but not conflicting and allowed the identification of five species groups corroborated by morphological characters. The Argyra argyria species group and the Argyra atriceps species group encompass the majority of the species and can be regarded as Argyra sensu stricto. The Argyra diaphana species group is characterized by a pubescent scutellum, a characteristic of Lasiargyra. The Argyra elongata species group has previously always been regarded as Argyra s.s., but consistently clustered separately from this clade in our analyses. The Argyra vestita species group corresponds with Leucostola, and is characterized by a bare scape.