Abai, MR

6th International Congress of DipterologyEvolutionary affinities of New Zealand blowflies(Calliphoridae)Wallman, J. F. (1) & L. Castro (2)(1) Institute for Conservation Biology and (2) Institute for Biomolecular Science, Schoolof Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, AustraliaRecent work has clarified the evolution of the Calliphoridae of theAustralasian region using molecular markers. To date, the focus has beenon Australian carrion-breeding endemics and related introduced species.Application of a molecular clock approach to these data suggestsdivergence of the major subfamilies Calliphorinae and Luciliinae around19 mya. The most recent analysis, presented here, includes representativesfrom New Zealand, targeted because of this country’s special evolutionaryhistory. New Zealand has a relatively depauperate blowfly fauna, withespecially limited diversity at the subfamily level. Most endemic speciesprobably have their origins not in Gonwandan elements, but rather inconsiderably more recent introductions.Six species of endemic and introduced species of Calliphorinae from NewZealand (representing four separate genera) were analysed to reveal theirrelatedness, based on mitochondrial DNA sequences, to blowflies fromAustralia. DNA sequences were analysed using parsimony and maximumlikelihoodBayesian techniques. The analysis places all species firmlywithin the subfamily Calliphorinae. Calliphora quadrimaculata,Ptilonesia and Xenocalliphora form a monophyletic group, seeminglymost closely allied to Calliphora nigrithorax and Calliphora ochraceafrom Australia. However, Calliphora vicina is the sister taxon to allAustralian + New Zealand calliphorines. These molecular data thereforedo not support separate generic status for Ptilonesia and Xenocalliphora,despite the morphological distinctiveness of these taxa.Key Words: Calliphora, mtDNA, New Zealand, Ptilonesia,Xenocalliphora294