Dd. Judd, REVIEW OF THE SYSTEMATICS AND PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS OF THE SABETHINI (DIPTERA, CULICIDAE), Systematic entomology, 21(2), 1996, pp. 129-150
This paper reviews the historical treatment of the tribe Sabethini and
genus-group taxa and examines the unusual life histories associated w
ith the group. Although recognized by taxonomists as distinct, the tax
onomic position of sabethines has been questioned and their rank withi
n the family Culicidae unstable. In order to evaluate the current stat
us of the classification of the tribe a cladistic analysis is performe
d. Thirty-seven taxa are selected from within the Sabethini and two ou
tgroups were chosen from the tribe Aedini. Exemplars are selected from
genus-group taxa world-wide and new and traditional character systems
examined in larval, pupal and adult life stages. The results firmly e
stablish the sabethines as a monophyletic group. However, the genera R
unchomyia, Tripteroides and Wyeomyia are not demonstrably monophyletic
. In addition, the data support the New World taxa as a monophyletic g
roup to a paraphyletic assemblage of Old World taxa. The pattern displ
ayed by the cladogram suggests the ability to vector arboviruses has a
risen more than once in mosquitoes.