Contribution to the Knowledge of Dicranoptychini (Diptera, Tipuloidea, Limoniidae) in China, with the First Mitochondrial Genome of the Tribe and Its Phylogenetic Implications.

Dicranoptychini is a tribe in the subfamily Limoniinae (Diptera, Tipuloidea, and Limoniidae) and includes only the genus Osten Sacken, 1860. However, the species diversity of the tribe in China was seriously underestimated, and the taxonomic status of has long been controversial. In this study, types of Chinese species and specimens collected from several localities in China were examined, and the first mitochondrial (mt) genome of the tribe Dicranoptychini is presented. Two species, sp. nov. and sp. nov., from China, are described and illustrated as new to science. A Palaearctic species, Alexander, 1938, is recorded in China for the first time. In addition, the complete mt genome of sp. nov. is sequenced and annotated, indicating that it is a typical circular DNA molecule with a length of 16,157 bp and shows a similar gene order, nucleotide composition, and codon usage to mt genomes of other Tipuloidea species. The two pairs of repeat elements are found in its control region. Phylogenetic results confirm the sister-group relationship between Cylindrotomidae and Tipulidae, question the position of the genus Osten Sacken, 1860 in Limoniidae, and indicate that Dicranoptychini may be a basal lineage within Limoniinae.