In support of morphology: Molecular analysis successfully delineates the Afrotropical genus Atylotus (Diptera: Tabanidae) into species

Previous studies of the horse fly genus Atylotus in the Afrotropics has shown little to no differentiation into species based on the barcoding region of cytochrome oxidase I (COI), largely due to morphological mis-identifications. Using field caught specimens and a museum reference collection together with type comparisons, COI and 16S ribosomal RNA sequences were generated from two specimens of Atylotus agrestis, two A. albipalpus, four A fuscipes and one A. nigromaculatus. Phylogenetic analysis of these sequences produced four separate species clades with strong support. The results showed that COI does delineate the species of Afrotropical Atylotus and that misidentifications of specimens is a common problem. Additionally, Atylotus fuscipes is revived from synonymy and given full species status. Finally, a comprehensive review of the COI barcodes, publicly available on GenBank and BOLD is included that highlights some problems with using sequences from public databases.

Automated summary

This study demonstrated that COI barcodes can differentiate species of Afrotropical Atylotus and identified misidentifications as a common issue. The revival of Atylotus fuscipes as a distinct species and the problems with using sequences from public databases were also addressed.