Research Training Program

Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History

PROJECT SUMMARY
1996

Rachel D. Eden
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
Wayne N. Mathis
Supervising Scientist
Department of Entomology
"The experience of working one on one with a leading Smithsonian systematist was a unique opportunity that will prove valuable as my future continues in systematics."

Discomyza Meigen (Diptera: Ephydridae): a review from phylogeny to malacophagy

ABSTRACT
The immature forms of Shore flies (Diptera: Ephydridae) breed in rather unusual places, such as petroleum pools, salt marshes, mineral and thermal springs, and small carrion. Larvae can either be aquatic, semiaquatic, or terrestrial. Five of the nine described species of Discomyza are known to breed in various land and terrestrial snails, in some cases even in living snails. Of the nine species, one D. u-signata Cresson, is unique among the others as it is the only species occurring naturally in the New World. In fact it is presently known only from two counties in the state of Texas. In order to test the phylogenetic placement of D. u-signata in the genus a preliminary phylogeny was performed. In the past little work had been done amongst the genera of Discomyzini, the tribe Discomyza is placed in, so the sister taxa to Discomyza are unknown. Outgroup taxa were selected from the suspected outgroup, Clanoneurum, which is now placed in the sister tribe Psilopini. For the ten taxa in the phylogenetic analysis twelve characters were scored and an analysis was run using PAUP 3.1. The results indicate the genus Discomyza to be a monophyletic group and D. u-signata to be the sister taxa to D. maculipennis with these two species firmly established in the phylogeny of the genus.

This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-9531331.

Letter of Gratitude