Biogeography of Neotropical Chrysomyinae (Diptera, Oestroidea, Calliphoridae)

ABSTRACT Aim We here provide the first attempt to reconstruct the ancestral ranges of Neotropical Chrysomyinae lineages and, based on the resulting scenarios, comprehensively describe their historical biogeography in the region. Location Neotropical region. Taxon Neotropical Chrysomyinae (Diptera, Calliphoridae): Chloroprocta Wulp, Cochliomyia Townsend, Compsomyiops Townsend, Hemilucilia Brauer and Paralucilia Brauer and Bergenstamm. Methods A calibrated Bayesian inference analysis with divergence time estimation was performed using concatenated molecular data from the COI, COII, Cytb, CAD, EF‐1α, ITS2, 16S and 28S molecular markers. Biogeographic analyses were conducted using the reconstructed phylogenetic tree and information on the current geographic distribution of the lineages. Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood methods were employed. Furthermore, these models were applied using two alternative regionalisation propositions for the Neotropical region. Results We present a new hypothesis for the phylogenetic relationships of Chrysomyinae, with the largest taxon sampling so far, including 57 species, of which 13 are native to the Neotropical region. The monophyly of Chrysomyinae, its Neotropical lineage, and the five subordinated genera endemic to the Neotropical region were recovered with high support. The biogeographic analyses considering different propositions for Neotropical regionalisation and models yielded highly variable results. Implications for the dispersion and evolution of different regional lineages are discussed. Main Conclusions Our results show that the Neotropical Chrysomyinae lineage likely originated during the Middle Miocene; a wide range of areas were identified for the origin and diversification of the group.