Phellinae sensu Dikow 2009a
Phellus olgae , image © Eileen Collins.
Phellinae
– maxillae (in lateral view) proximally high and distal tip narrower (28)
– ocellar setae formed by regular setae (no macrosetae) (63)
– postocular setae formed by regular setae (no macrosetae) (66)
– three or more notopleural setae present (88)
– stump vein on R4 (not reaching R2+3) (146)
– M2 and m-m aligned in a line from distal to proximal (nearly parallel to posterior wing margin) (150)
– female with 7th and following segments comprising ovipositor (167)
– female S8 of ovipositor keel-like throughout (170)
– male ejaculatory apodeme triangular in anterior view (two lateral and one dorsal surface) (220)
The taxon Phellini was described by Hardy (1926) to include the three Australian genera Bathypogon, Phellus, and Psilozona. Hull (1962) transferred the Chilean genus Obelophorus into Phellini and Artigas & Papavero (1991) transferred Bathypogon to the newly described Bathypogonini. The two genera Obelophorus and Phellus form a clade in the cladistic study by Dikow (2009) supported by a number of apomorphic character states and are recognised therefore as a separate taxon, which is biogeographically interesting as the extant representatives are found only in Australia and Chile.