Mr Liam Foley1, Dr Nikolas Johnston2, Prof James Wallman3

1School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 2Molecular Horizons Institute, School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia, 3Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Biography:

I am currently pursuing an honours degree at the university of Technology Sydney, following the completion of a Bachelor of Environmental Biology. My current research focuses on the systematics of forensically important Australian blowflies. Passionate about entomology and systematics, I am eager to contribute meaningful insight into Australia’s insect biodiversity.

Abstract:

Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) represent a diverse and important component of Australia’s biodiversity, yet a severe deficit remains in our knowledge of many their constituent subfamilies. The Calliphorinae represent the most diverse subfamily of blowflies in Australia encompassing over 40 species with the majority of species belonging to the genus Calliphora. Many species of Calliphora display carrion breeding life histories, making them of great value within the field of forensic entomology, where variables such as larval growth rate can help estimate the time since death of corpses. The cryptic morphology of this genus has resulted in it being subject to several conflicting taxonomic treatments and classification schemes and to date no comprehensive revisionary work has been completed.

A recent phylogenomic study of the global Calliphoridae has provided unprecedented insight into the evolutionary position of the genus Calliphora within the global fauna, showing this genus is likely not monophyletic and that that Australian taxa represent a unique and ancient lineage. As such an integrative revision of the Australian taxa is of great urgency and importance.

This study represents the first integrative revision the carrion breeding Calliphora in Australia. The results of this work provide a deeper understanding of the group and its evolutionary relationships within the broader Calliphorines through the production of in-depth descriptions for each species, a key to adults and a new phylogenetic hypothesis. Additionally, the placement of the carrion-breeding Calliphora within the revised Calliphorine species group system will be discussed.