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The Cyclorrhaphan Larva as a Data Source

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Ecomorphology of Cyclorrhaphan Larvae (Diptera)

Part of the book series: Zoological Monographs ((ZM,volume 4))

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Abstract

In this chapter, the main findings of the book are summarised and discussed with the twin aims of identifying common features within and between contrasts such as taxon, feeding mode and ecomorphology and extending the discussion to consider the role of the larval stage in the diversification of the Cyclorrhapha. Based on examples from earlier chapters, the value of making progress by allowing morphological and movement analyses to inform one another is evaluated. Assessments such as these support the idea that larvae are underestimated as a data source and that they are many times richer in potential than under prevailing hypotheses of similarity and convergence. The origins and roles of trophic and locomotor traits that distinguish the Cyclorrhapha are reassessed and feeding modes compared and contrasted. Switching between feeding modes is a putative contributor to diversification and requires improved assessment and evaluation. Provisional assessment of exemplar lineages with multiple feeding modes has identified change in individual trophic features and these are putative candidates underpinning switches in feeding modes. Against a background of direct and indirect opportunities for phytophagy, saprophagy and zoophagy provided by the diversification of angiosperms and feeding mode switching, adaptive larval features also include component subdivision and recombination, modularity and character lability. The latter in particular seems to be a major contributor to the rapid evolution of the higher Cyclorrhapha. Furthermore, adaptation potential or adaptability appears to increase over phylogenetic distances measured by the number of nodes between taxa. This may be due to conservative evolution in which genetic and developmental mechanisms are accrued and modified rather than becoming redundant or lost. Accrual of adaptability may be another significant contributor to high levels of trophic and locomotor specialisation, ecomorphological variation and diverse life cycles.

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    Graham E. Rotheray

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Rotheray, G.E. (2019). The Cyclorrhaphan Larva as a Data Source. In: Ecomorphology of Cyclorrhaphan Larvae (Diptera). Zoological Monographs, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92546-2_9

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