On the systematics of the fungus gnat subfamily Mycetophilinae (Diptera): a combined morphological and molecular approach

The phylogenetic relationships within the fungus gnat subfamily Mycetophilinae (Diptera) are addressed using a combined morphological and molecular approach. Twenty-four species, representing nine genera of the tribe Mycetophilini and 15 genera of the tribe Exechiini, were included in the study. Analyses include nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I and 16S), and nuclear (18S and 28S rDNA) genes, in addition to 65 morphological characters. A combined parsimony analysis, including all characters, supports the monophyly of the subfamily Mycetophilinae and two of its tribes, Exechiini and Mycetophilini. There is also statistical support for a Mycetophila-group and a Phronia-group within the tribe Mycetophilini. The Phronia-group includes the genera Phronia, Macrobrachius and Trichonta. The Mycetophila-group includes the genera Mycetophila, Epicypta, Platurocypta, Sceptonia and Zygomyia. A Bayesian analysis based on the nucleotide sequences alone also support these clades within Mycetophilini except for the position of Dynatosoma which is recovered as the sister taxon to the Phronia-group. A somewhat different pattern, however, is observed for the tribe Exechiini - neither molecular data nor the combined data set support unambiguously any intergeneric relationships within Exechiini.