Ommatiinae sensu Dikow 2009a
Ommatius floridensis , image © Giff Beaton.
Ommatiinae
– setae on anterior surface of antennal stylus (59)
– at least some median ommatidia larger than surrounding ones (46)
– postpedicel short and medially broadest (54)
– postmetacoxal area entirely sclerotized (102)
The Ommatiinae has been considered to be a monophyletic taxon that is usually associated with the Asilinae or Apocleinae sensu previous authors (e.g., Karl 1959, Hull 1962, Lehr 1969, 1996, Papavero 1973, Bybee et al. 2004). In Dikow (2009), the included genera Afroestricus, Cophinopoda, Emphysomera, Michotamia, and Ommatius form a polytomy in the strict consensus cladogram and the genus Ommatius is paraphyletic with respect to Afroestricus chiastoneurus. Afroestricus has only recently been described for 20 Afrotropical species previously assigned to Ommatius by Scarbrough (2005). The inclusion of more Ommatius species in future studies will help to clarify the monophyly of this worldwide, speciose genus.