Confluens (caddisfly) explained

Confluens is a genus of caddisflies belonging to the family Oeconesidae. The genus was described by Keith Arthur John Wise in 1962, after noticing differences in two species previously placed within the genus Pycnocentrodes. Both species of Confluens are endemic to New Zealand.

Taxonomy

Keith Arthur John Wise originally described the genus in 1962, naming Confluens hamiltoni as the type species. Both of the species he placed within the genus, C. hamiltoni and C. olingoides, had been identified in 1924 by Robert John Tillyard as species within the genus Pycnocentrodes.

Phylogenetic analysis indicates that Confluens forms a clade with the genera Alloecentrella, Beraeoptera, Olinga, Pycnocentria and Pycnocentrodes.^[1]

Description

Wise's original text (the type description) reads as follows:

Wise notes that the fusion of R₂₊₃ and R₄₊₅ is a distinguishing feature of this genus.

Distribution

The genus is found in New Zealand.

Notes and References

1. 10.1080/00288330.2009.9626536. 0028-8330. 43. 5. 1137–1146. Hogg. Ian D. Smith. Brian J. Banks. Jonathan C. Dewaard. Jeremy R. Hebert. Paul DN. Testing use of mitochondrial COI sequences for the identification and phylogenetic analysis of New Zealand caddisflies (Trichoptera). New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 2009. 2009NZJMF..43.1137H. 10289/3545. free.