Allozyme electrophoresis was used to determine the systematic affinities of
nine forms of carrion-breeding blowfly of the genus
Calliphora: C. stygia,
C. albifrontalis, C. augur,
C. dubia, C. hilli hilli,
C. hilli fallax, C. varifrons,
C. sp. nov., and C. maritima. The
results (1) confirm the species status of all forms currently described as
such, (2) support a return to the ranking of
C. hilli fallax as a full species,
C. fallax, (3) support the recognition of
C. sp. nov. as a distinct species, and (4) indicate that
distinct Kangaroo Island and adjacent mainland subpopulations appear to exist
in at least three species. The allozyme data also strongly support the placing
of eight of the forms into three separate species-groups on morphological
grounds, and the placement of C. maritima in a fourth
group. However, on the basis of these data, the comparative genetic affinities
of the parasitic blowfly Onesia tibialis suggest that
Calliphora in its current form may be paraphyletic.
