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• Phylogeny and species-group classification of the mega-diverse genus Megaselia (Diptera, Phoridae)

  Sibylle Häggqvist, Sven Olof Ulefors, Fredrik Ronquist.

  The genus Megaselia is one of the largest in the animal kingdom, with 1,600 described species and many more remaining to be discovered according to most experts. The biology is poorly known; some well-studied species have been shown to be parasitoids or extreme omnivores but it is suspected that larvae are mostly decomposers or fungivores. The genus can be found in most regions of the world but it is most diverse in the Holarctic, from temperate to arctic climates, at least judging from the described fauna. Work on Megaselia taxonomy is challenging due to the extreme species diversity, the poor knowledge of the higher-level phylogeny and the lack of molecular data. In this paper, we provide the first comprehensive study of Megaselia relationships based on molecular data. Although basal relationships in the genus remain uncertain, we identify 22 well-supported terminal clades, which we recognize as informal species groups. We briefly discuss the morphological characteristics of each species group, and the implications of our phylogenetic results for the genus-level classification of Megaselia and its closest relatives. We also provide molecular and brief morphological characterization of 45 Megaselia species new to science.

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• Size and Composition of the Swedish Insect Fauna

  Fredrik Ronquist (et al.).

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• The spinigera group of Megaselia (Diptera, Phoridae)

  Sibylle Häggqvist, Sven Olof Ulefors, Fredrik Ronquist.

  With 1,600 described species, the scuttle-fly genus Megaselia is one of the largest genera of all organisms. A recent comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study suggests that most of the Megaselia species fall into a monophyletic group, the “core Megaselia clade”, leaving only two lineages outside: the spinigera group and the ruficornis group. Here, we focus on the spinigera group. We present a molecular analysis of its phylogenetic position within the subfamily Metopininae, and of relationships within it. The analysis is based on broader taxon sampling than in previous studies, covering additional lineages both within and outside the group. Our analysis supports the recognition of an “extended Megaselia clade” — including Myriophora, Pseudacteon, the M. ruficornis group and core Megaselia — and indicates that the spinigera group may be the sister group of this clade. Furthermore, our analysis shows that the spinigera group contains several species previously placed in Plastophora, Phalacrotophora or Kerophora, and we discuss the possibility of recognizing the spinigera group as a separate genus under one of those names. We also revise the known Swedish fauna of the group based primarily on study of material from Malaise traps, and show that the fauna includes a hitherto unknown species, which is described as M. proctoluteipes n. sp. Finally, we present a key to the known Swedish species.

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