The caddisfly family Calamoceratidae consists of 8 extant genera, of primarily tropical distribution. Three of these genera, Banyallarga, Heteroplectron, and Phylloicus, are found exclusively in the New World, with the majority of species diversity in the Neotropics. 60 species are known from the New World; nearly a third of these are new to science. Species of the most diverse genus, Phylloicus, are remarkable for their colorful, dramatic wing patterning, and their elaborate abdominal scent structures. Calamoceratid genera have not previously been defined by synapomorphies and their taxonomy has been complicated by inadequate description and the loss of type material. I used morphological characters to reconstruct phylogenies of the genera of Calamoceratidae and of the New World species. These phylogenies provide characters for diagnosing monophyletic units of New World calamoceratids and assigning new species to genera.
Species 1: Trichoptera Calamoceratidae Banyallarga
Species 2: Trichoptera Calamoceratidae Heteroplectron
Species 3: Trichoptera Calamoceratidae Phylloicus
Keywords: phylogenetics, Neotropics
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA