The Genus Spinopygina gen. nov. (Diptera, Sciaridae) from Western North America: Preliminary Molecular Phylogeny and Description of Seven New Species

Pekka Vilkamaa; Nikola Burdíková; Jan Ševčík

doi:10.3390/insects14020173

The Genus Spinopygina gen. nov. (Diptera, Sciaridae) from Western North America: Preliminary Molecular Phylogeny and Description of Seven New Species

Insects. 2023 Feb 9;14(2):173. doi: 10.3390/insects14020173.

Authors

Pekka Vilkamaa¹, Nikola Burdíková², Jan Ševčík^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Finnish Museum of Natural History, Zoology Unit, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 17, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland.
² Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Chittussiho 10, CZ-710 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic.
³ Silesian Museum, Nádražní Okruh 31, CZ-74601 Opava, Czech Republic.

Abstract

The genus Spinopygina gen. nov. (type species Camptochaeta uniceps Hippa & Vilkamaa, 1994) from western North America is described. The genus includes the following eight species: Spinopygina acerfalx sp. nov.; S. aurifera sp. nov.; S. camura sp. nov.; S. edura sp. nov.; S. peltata sp. nov.; S. plena sp. nov.; S. quadracantha sp. nov.; and S. uniceps (Hippa & Vilkamaa, 1994) comb. nov., transferred from Corynoptera Winnertz. The new species are described and Spinopygina uniceps is re-diagnosed. The species are keyed and illustrated. In the maximum-likelihood phylogenetic hypothesis based on four gene fragments (28S, 18S, 16S and COI), Spinopygina gen. nov. appears as the sister group of Claustropyga Hippa, Vilkamaa & Mohrig, 2003. In the same analysis, a remarkable, undescribed species is placed within Camptochaeta Hippa & Vilkamaa clade.

Keywords: Nearctic Region; Sciaridae; black-winged fungus gnats; new taxa; phylogeny.

Grants and funding

The research by J. Ševčík was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic by institutional financing of long-term conceptual development of research institution (the Silesian Museum, MK000100595).