Evolution and Biogeography of Xiphocentronidae Ross, 1949 (Trichoptera: Psychomyioidea)

• Grant number: 24/19456-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: July 10, 2025
• End date: July 09, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Silvio Shigueo Nihei
• Grantee: Albane Vilarino Santos da Silva
• Supervisor: Atilano Contreras Ramos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/01142-5 - Evolution and historical biogeography of the net-tube caddisflies Xiphocentronidae and Psychomyiidae (Trichoptera: Annulipalpia: Psychomyiioidea), BP.PD

Abstract

Xiphocentronidae is a family of trichoptera with about 200 species, originating in the Cretaceous and currently with a pantropical distribution with great diversity in Southeast Asia and Mesoamerica. Xiphocentron is the most diverse genus of the family with about 60 species, being restricted to the Neotropical and southern Nearctic region and divided into 5 subgenera. However, the genus has no clear synapomorphies and its monophyly is uncertain. Morphological analyses suggested that the genus is polyphyletic and that subgenera occurring in the southern Nearctic would be related to eastern genera, however, these results were poorly supported. Also, it is inferred that the exchange between Neotropical and Oriental fauna took place during the thermal maximum of the Eocene, and that with the cooling of the climate at the end of the Eocene the thermophilic groups of this Nearctic fauna became extinct, or moved towards Mesoamerica. Thus, the present project aims to: (1) Evaluate whether molecular evidence corroborates the results of the morphological phylogeny and propose a new classification of the genus Xiphocentron; (2) explore the diversity of the group in Mesoamerica by making new collections, getting their molecular data and describing possible new species.