A taxonomic revision and molecular phylogeny of the eastern Palearctic species of the genera Schizomyia Kieffer and Asteralobia Kovalev (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae, Asphondyliini), with descriptions of five new species of Schizomyia from Japan

Ayman Khamis Elsayed; Junichi Yukawa; Makoto Tokuda

doi:10.3897/zookeys.808.29679

A taxonomic revision and molecular phylogeny of the eastern Palearctic species of the genera Schizomyia Kieffer and Asteralobia Kovalev (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae, Asphondyliini), with descriptions of five new species of Schizomyia from Japan

Zookeys. 2018 Dec 18:(808):123-160. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.808.29679. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Ayman Khamis Elsayed^{1

2

3}, Junichi Yukawa⁴, Makoto Tokuda^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan Kagoshima University Kagoshima Japan.
² Laboratory of Systems Ecology, Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University, Saga 840-8502, Japan Saga University Saga Japan.
³ Department of Applied Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria University Alexandria Egypt.
⁴ Entomological Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan Kyushu University Fukuoka Japan.

Abstract

The genus Asteralobia (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae, Asphondyliini, Schizomyiina) was erected by Kovalev (1964) based on the presence of constrictions on the cylindrical male flagellomeres. In the present study, we examine the morphological features of Asteralobia and Schizomyia and found that the male flagellomeres are constricted also in Schizomyiagaliorum, the type species of Schizomyia. Because no further characters clearly separating Asteralobia from Schizomyia were observed, we synonymize Asteralobia under Schizomyia. Molecular phylogenetic analysis strongly supports our taxonomic treatment. We describe five new species of Schizomyia from Japan, S.achyranthesae Elsayed & Tokuda, sp. n., S.diplocyclosae Elsayed & Tokuda, sp. n., S.castanopsisae Elsayed & Tokuda, sp. n., S.usubai Elsayed & Tokuda, sp. n., and S.paederiae Elsayed & Tokuda, sp. n., and redescribe three species, S.galiorum Kieffer, S.patriniae Shinji, and S.asteris Kovalev. A taxonomic key to the Japanese Schizomyia species is provided.

Keywords: Cecidomyiinae; Schizomyiina; gall midges; taxonomic key.