engleski

Ancient divergence of dance flies (Empididae, Diptera): first insights from the mtDNA phylogeny with special emphasis on the Balkans

Family Empididae consists of three subfamilies out of which Clinocerinae and Hemerodromiinae are related to aquatic habitats and are predators in all of their life stages. These two subfamilies are rich in endemic species, specifically the genus Wiedemannia (Clinocerinae). Most of the endemics inhabit mountain areas of Europe including the Balkan Peninsula. The aim of this study was to provide insights into phylogeny and estimate timing of divergence of dance flies of the subfamily Clinocerinae, particularly the genus Wiedemannia in the Balkans. Preliminary phylogeny based on mitochondrial DNA sequences (COI gene) of 37 species indicates strong radiation within the subfamily Clinocerinae and is only to some degree in accordance with morphologically based systematics of this group. Subgenera of the genus Wiedemannia are mixed in the phylogeny tree, thus further studies based on nuclear gene sequences should be executed to verify or discard these preliminary findings. Estimation of divergence times reveals very old splits within dance flies and ancient age of Balkans’ endemic species. Oldest divergence among aquatic dance flies subfamilies was estimated to approximately 80 Mya and divergence of Balkan endemics within the period of 40 and 11 Mya.

empididae; wiedemannia; subgenera

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