PLEUROCERINELLINI ZIMINA, 1974

Gibson, Joel F. & Skevington, Jeffrey H., 2013, Phylogeny and taxonomic revision of all genera of Conopidae (Diptera) based on morphological data, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 167 (1), pp. 43-81 : 65-66

PLEUROCERINELLINI ZIMINA, 1974

Type genus Pleurocerinella Brunetti, 1923: 368 . Included genera: Pleurocerinella , Tammo Stuke, 2008: 50 . Uncontroverted morphological autapomorphies: none. In all members of Pleurocerinellini , the prementum is reduced from the elongate state plesiomorphic to Conopidae (43); the reduced state is also observed in Abrachyglossum + Leopoldius , Baruerizodion , Heteroconops , Myopa occulta , Pseudomyopa , and Tanyconops . The scutellum is greatly reduced and lacking bristles (65) in all members of Pleurocerinellini ; this character state is also observed in Asiconopini + Euconops + Mallachoconops + Brachyceraeini + Caenoconopini + Physocephalini + Tropidomyiini .

Zimina (1974) first described this tribe and included only the Palaearctic species, Pleurocerinella tibialis . The original tribal description, translated by Clements & Vincent (2001), includes the following diagnostic characters: pedicel elongate; three ocelli present; prementum short; labella ‘massive’; crossvein sc-r present; vein R 4+5 + M present; pleura and coxae bare. While all of these character states are observed in the present analysis, only the shortened prementum is apomorphic to the tribe. Zimina (1974) suggests that Pleurocerinellini is intermediate between Conopinae and Myopinae , as it has the morphological characters of Conopinae , except ocelli are present. In the present analysis, the absence of ocelli is not apomorphic to Conopinae . Members of Pleurocerinellini display all character states apomorphic to Conopinae .

Previous classifications have included Pleurocerinella within Physocephalini . Members of Pleurocerinellini can be distinguished from members of Physocephalini by the presence of ocelli and an ocellar tubercle, a shortened prementum, a nonpetiolate male abdomen, the absence of a notch in the posterior margin of the eye, the absence of a characteristic dark anterior and hyaline posterior wing pattern, the presence of maxillary palpi, the presence of a prominent row of setae on the mesofemur, and the presence of setae on the ventral half of the proepisternum.

Species examined – Pleurocerinella albohalterata ; Pleurocerinella copelandi ; Pleurocerinella srilankai ; Pleurocerinella tibialis ; Pleurocerinella sp. ; Tammo rufa .