Neosphaeromias

Borkent, Art, 2024, The Phylogeny of the Genera of Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) of the World, Zootaxa 5438 (1), pp. 1-274 : 236

Neosphaeromias :

- Female claws on each leg basally fused and with extremely elongate, inner teeth and well-developed, blunt outer teeth ( Fig. 77C ). This feature is unique in the Culicomorpha but may be an intermediate condition between two forms of the claws ( Figs. 77F–G ).

- Female with abdominal tergite 8 forming a hood over the remaining genitalia and tapering posteriorly.

Figures

FIGURE 77. Stylized portrayal of female claw shape variation in Ceratopogonidae. Arrows show possible, logical directions of change, drawing into question homologous character states and making interpretation of synapomorphies difficult for most taxa.An exemplar taxon is noted for each form of claw shape and all extant Ceratopogonidae genera are listed in Table 5 under the corresponding figure letter. The variation is discussed under “Uncertain Character States” as “Presence of one or two claws on each of female fore-, mid- and hind legs, each claw with or without basal or subbasal teeth”.