Systematics, biogeography and phylogenetic diversity of Tipulomorpha, with emphasis on the subfamily Chioneinae (Diptera: Limoniidae)
Tipulomorpha is a diverse group of Diptera, but knowledge of their phylogeny is fairly incomplete. One of the complications of studying the phylogeny of Tipulomorpha is that it is not possible to separate the study of interfamily relationships from the problem of intergeneric relationships in the Limoniidae. This is because the family Limoniidae (largest family of the Tipulomorpha) and its major subfamilies (Limnophilinae and Chioneinae) are clearly paraphyletic or polyphyletic groupings. The Chioneinae subfamily, the second-largest subfamily of the group (with 4406 species distributed in 59 genera), has not had a significant sample in the phylogenetic studies conducted to date. Some synapomorphies proposed for the group, such as the form of the Meron, are controversial. This work aims to perform a phylogenetic analysis of Tipulomorpha based on morphological data, with a focus on the subfamily Chioneinae.