METOPININAE (Disney & Ellwood, 2001)

Brown, Brian V., Amorim, Dalton De Souza & Kung, Giar-Ann, 2015, New morphological characters for classifying Phoridae (Diptera) from the structure of the thorax, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 173 (2), pp. 424-485 : 457

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1111/zoj.12208
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039987A3-BD61-2940-6571-FA0B2F02888F
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	METOPININAE
status

Treatment

METOPININAE View in CoL + PHORINAE

This group includes the traditional Metopininae , Phorinae and Aenigmatiinae , as well as the more recently proposed ( Brown, 1992) Hypocerinae and Conicerinae . As such, it is a newly proposed monophyletic group. Brown (2007) proposed that random, dense dorsal setulae on the scutum defined his crown clade Euphorida. This character is now seen to be an additional synapomorphy of Metopininae + Phorinae .

25. Macrosetae of thorax: (0) simple, (1) feathered ( Fig. 29A–F View Figure 29 ).

Feathered setae ( Fig. 29E, F View Figure 29 ) on the proepisternum and notopleuron are typical of all examined phorids except Sciadocerinae , Chonocephalus and Termitoxeniinae , which have simple setae ( Fig. 29B–D View Figure 29 ). 26. Hind femur and coxa: (0) cylindrical (1) posteriorly flattened ( Figs 30A–F View Figure 30 , 31A–F View Figure 31 ).

The hind femur of platypezids and lonchopterids is relatively cylindrical and thin. This condition is also found in some phorids: sciadocerines, Chonocephalus and termitoxeniines ( Fig. 31A–C View Figure 31 ). Metopinines and phorines have the hind femur laterally compressed ( Fig. 31D–F View Figure 31 ), although in some metopinine genera, such as Trophodeinus Borgmeier , the hind femur has secondarily become thin and rounded, but other characters clearly demonstrate that the genus belongs in the Metopininae and that this condition is a reversion. The hind coxa also is cylindrical in outgroups and basal clades of phorids ( Figs 2–6, 30A–C View Figure 30 ), becoming laterally flattened at the base of ( Metopininae + Phorinae ) ( Figs 7 View Figure 7 , 8, 30D–F View Figure 30 ). There are complex changes in the shape of the hind coxa that may be transformed as characters for smaller clades in the metopinines and in the phorines.

27. Proepisternum: (0) with dorsal setae all small, (1) with some significantly larger dorsal setae ( Fig. 32A–F View Figure 32 ).

The presence of proepisternal setae is widespread in Diptera . A synapomorphy of Metopininae + Phorinae is the presence of larger, stronger dorsal proepisternal setae ( Fig. 32D–F View Figure 32 ), some of which, especially the strong- er ones, are directed dorsally. Some termitophilous phorines have a greatly reduced proepisternum, however, and have secondarily lost the large setae.

28. Meron: (0) short ventrally, (1) with long narrow ventral process ( Fig. 20A–F View Figure 20 ).

The meron (or, more properly, the fused meron– katepimeron–metepisternum joint sclerite) ends ventrally, in its plesiomorphic condition, more dorsally than the ventral end of the katepisternum ( Fig. 20A, B View Figure 20 ). In metopinines and phorines, it extends ventrally between the mid- and hind coxae ( Fig. 20C–F View Figure 20 ). The degree of extension varies considerably among the genera, in some cases reaching far ventrally. This extension is possibly related to the loss of movement in the mid- and hind coxae.

29. Basalare bumps: (0) three; (1) four, with a lipshaped additional microtrichose sclerite anterodorsal to the anterior bump ( Fig. 18A–H View Figure 18 ).

There is an additional change in the basalare with, in the addition to the euphorid typical three basalare bumps, a fourth sclerite in this area (fb, Fig. 18E–H View Figure 18 ). This is a synapomorphy of the clade ( Metopininae + Phorinae ).