| dc.description |
The phantom midges (Diptera: Chaoboridae) are a relatively small fly family
composed of 50 extant species in six genera. Larvae are of interest to limnologists and
ecologists because of their tolerance to toxicants, predatory avoidance strategies, and
the role chaoborids play in zooplankton community dynamics. Relative to
mosquitoes, systematists have paid relatively little attention to this group. Recent
work on the internal classification of the chaoborids has provided a wealth of character
information and putative homologies, but the relationships among the Chaoboridae
genera have not been rigorously analyzed and support for the monophyly of the family
is weak. The objectives of this research are three fold: 1) test the monophyly of
Chaoboridae; 2) examine subfamilial and species relationships within the family; 3)
develop and explore new character systems useful across the Culicoidea. |
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