Members of the tribe Sabethini (Diptera: Culicidae) oviposit and develop in phytotelmata (plant-held waters) and are primarily distributed in a pantropical pattern. Recent cladistic studies have demonstrated that while the tribe is monophyletic, three of its 12 genera are not. The genus Wyeomyia is particularly problematical and debate among culicidologists continues with regard to the monophyly of its subgenera. For example, the subgenus Hystatomyia was recently resurrected to include seven species within Wyeomyia that were without subgeneric placement. This was based on unique larval, pupal, and adult characters, including a subapical gonostylus in adult males. However, the putative sister group to Hystatomyia, Phoniomyia, also contains species with this same synapomorphy. In addition to this apparent homology problem, 13 undescribed species were separated out by John Belkin during the “Mosquitoes of Middle America” project. The objective of our study is to provide a modern species-level revision of Hystatomyia that includes diagnosis and description of all species and a reexamination of sister group relationships within Wyeomyia using morphological characters from adult, pupal, and larval stages.
Species 1: Diptera Culicidae Wyeomyia
Keywords: Sabethini, systematics
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