Under Construction

Chalarinae

Jeff Skevington
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
taxon links [up-->]Jassidophaga [up-->]Protoverrallia succinia [up-->]Verrallia [up-->]Chalarus extinct icon Monophyly Uncertain[down<--]Pipunculidae Interpreting the tree
close box

This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.

The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.

example of a tree diagram

You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.

For more information on ToL tree formatting, please see Interpreting the Tree or Classification. To learn more about phylogenetic trees, please visit our Phylogenetic Biology pages.

close box
Containing group: Pipunculidae

Introduction

This subfamily is represented by 72 valid extant species and four extinct species.

Characteristics

These flies are immediately recognizable from other pipunculids by having the backs of their heads flattened (rounded in all other pipunculids). They also have strong bristles on their occiput and thorax. The genus Chalarus includes the smallest pipunculids, some only 4 mm long. Taxonomy of the group is very poorly studied. Revision of all genera in all regions is needed. Chalarus is particularly poorly known, with no described species in North America or Australia, despite considerable diversity in these regions.

Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships

Both molecular and morphological evidence strongly support the hypothesis that this is the basal lineage of pipunculids (Rafael and De Meyer, 1992; Skevington and Yeates, 2000). Chalarus is the most plesiomorphic genus. The monophyly of Jassidophaga has often been questioned and Jassidophaga has been treated as part of Verrallia by some authors.

References

Rafael, J. A., and M. De Meyer. 1992. Generic classification of the family Pipunculidae (Diptera): a cladistic analysis. Journal of Natural History 26:637-658.

Skevington, J. H., and D. K. Yeates. 2000. Phylogeny of the Syrphoidea (Diptera) inferred from mtDNA sequences and morphology with particular reference to classification of the Pipunculidae (Diptera). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 16:212-224.

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Jassidophaga
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By Jeff Skevington
Sex Male
Life Cycle Stage adult
Copyright © Steve Marshall
About This Page


Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Jeff Skevington at

Page: Tree of Life Chalarinae. Authored by Jeff Skevington. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Skevington, Jeff. 2005. Chalarinae. Version 02 November 2005 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Chalarinae/54640/2005.11.02 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

edit this page
close box

This page is a Tree of Life Branch Page.

Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Chalarinae

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top