Sophophora

The paraphyletic subgenus Sophophora of the genus Drosophila was first described by Alfred Sturtevant in 1939.^[1] It contains the best-known drosophilid species, Drosophila melanogaster. Sophophora translates as carrier (phora) of wisdom (sophos). The subgenus is paraphyletic because the genus Lordiphosa^[2][3] and the species Hirtodrosophila duncani^[4][5] are also placed within this subgenus.

Phylogeny

Currently, 10 species groups are recognized, in two main groups, the New World and the Old World^[5][6][7]

Old World:

• melanogaster species group (65 species, including D. melanogaster and D. simulans)
• montium species group (88)
• ananassae species group (24)
• obscura species group (44)
• dentissima species group (17)
• fima species group (23)
• dispar species group (2)
• settifemur species group (2)

New World:

• saltans species group (21)
• willistoni species group (23)

Unknown:

• populi species group (2)

References

1. ↑ Sturtevant, A. H. (1939). On the subdivision of the genus Drosophila. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 25, 137–141.
2. ↑ Katoh, T., Tamura, K. & Aotsuka, T. (2000). Phylogenetic position of the subgenus Lordiphosa of the genus Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae) inferred from alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) gene sequences. Journal of Molecular Evolution 51, 122–130.
3. ↑ Hu, Y.-G. & Toda, M. J. (2001). Polyphyly of Lordiphosa and its relationships in Drosophilinae (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Systematic Entomology 26, 15–31.
4. ↑ O'Grady, P. & DeSalle, R. (2008). Out of Hawaii: the origin and biogeography of the genus Scaptomyza (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Biology Letters 4, 195-199.
5. 1 2 van der Linde, K., Houle, D., Spicer, G. S. & Steppan, S. J. (2010). A supermatrix-based molecular phylogeny of the family Drosophilidae. Genetics Research 92, 25-38.
6. ↑ Bächli, G. (1999-2010). TaxoDros: The Database on Taxonomy of Drosophilidae. Available at http://taxodros.unizh.ch/
7. ↑ Da Lage, J.-L., Kergoat, G. J., Maczkowiak, F., Silvain, J.-F., Cariou, M.-L. & Lachaise, D. (2007). A phylogeny of Drosophilidae using the Amyrel gene: questioning the Drosophila melanogaster species group boundaries. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 45, 47–63.