Discovery and descriptions of three cryptic species of the genus Drosophila Fallén (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from laboratory-maintained strains

Cryptic species are often defined as species that cannot be reliably distinguished from some known species due to their morphological similarity. Such species are casually discovered from collections of known species. In the present study, we report the discovery of three cryptic species of the subgenus Sophophora (genus Drosophila) belonging to the montium and melanogaster species groups from laboratory-maintained stocks.

Based on our morphological examination, cross experiments, and molecular phylogenetic analyses, the three species were recognized as new to science and described as D. parabicornut a sp. nov., D. xitouensis sp. nov., and D. neolutea sp. nov.