LAUSR

Abstract The genus Cenophengus LeConte (1881) includes 27 species, distributed from southern United States to northern Costa Rica. In order to test the monophyly of Cenophengus, a cladistic analysis based on 81 morphological characters, 28 species of Cenophengus and 27 outgroup species was conducted. A clade supported by three synapomorphies corresponds to Cenophengus as a monophyletic group according to the relationships obtained under both equaland implied weights. The systematic relevance of the coding of the characters from the wing is discussed and the sequence of the character state transformations for the veins (radial twenty [r3], posterior radial twenty [RP] size, and anterior cubital veins [CuA]) is optimized in the cladogram obtained under implied weights. Cenophengus species are distributed in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions, and particularly in the Mexican Transition Zone, where their greatest diversity is found.