Pelamera atra (Rondani, 1861) (Diptera: Tachinidae)—systematics of a rare and enigmatic bristle fly from Europe

Pelamera atra (Rondani, 1861) is an enigmatic species of bristle fly that has been challenging dipterologists with regard to its taxonomic position within the family Tachinidae since it was first described. The species is rarely collected and is only known from a handful of female specimens. The first ever male specimen of P. atra was collected in southern Italy in 2017, and it allowed for the discovery of its unique terminalia. The present paper provides the first description of a male of P. atra and presents new insights about its phylogenetic position within the family based on molecular data. A maximum likelihood analysis was conducted on a selection of tachinid taxa using sequences of two nuclear protein-coding genes (CAD and MCS) to formulate the first hypothesis concerning the phylogenetic placement of P. atra. Phylogenetic analyses reconstructed P. atra as a member of the Tachininae sister to the (Loewiini + (Polideini + Ernestiini)) clade. This reconstruction challenges previous attempts at classifying Pelamera based on female external morphology, which instead suggested a close affinity to the tribes Brachymerini or Minthoini. Due to the morphological distinctiveness of this taxon, we here propose the placement of P. atra in the monotypic tribe Pelamerini stat. rev.