Opusc. Zool. Budapest, 2019, 50(1): 31–85 Revision of European Wormaldia species (Trichoptera, Philopo- tamidae): Chimeric taxa of integrative organisation 1 2 3 4 5 6 J. OLÁH , T. ANDERSEN , S. BESHKOV , G. COPPA , A. RUIZ GARCIA & K.A. JOHANSON 1János Oláh, Residence postal address: Tarján u. 28, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary,
[email protected] 2Trond Andersen, Department of Natural History, University Museum of Bergen, University of Bergen, P.O. Box 7800, N-5020 Bergen, Norway,
[email protected] 3Stoyan Beshkov, National Museum of Natural History, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria,
[email protected] 4Gennaro Coppa, 1, rue du Courlis, F-08350 Villers-sur-Bar, France,
[email protected] 5Antonio Ruiz Garcia, Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales (Zoología), Universidad Pablo de Olavide, A-376, Km 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain,
[email protected] 6Kjell Arne Johanson, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Zoology, Box 50007, SE-10405 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract. We have recognised significant incongruences among the most commonly used taxonomic characters in the European species of Wormaldia genus of the Philopotamidae caddisfly family. During taxonomical analysis and ranking procedures we have recorded incongruent, discorcordant characters also in the taxa in Rhyacophilidae, Hydropsychidae and Limnephilidae caddisfly families. Based on theoretical background we concluded that taxa of examined caddisflies and probably all living creatures are chimeric entities composed of components of different origin. Genomes and phenomes are tree-like on the surface but more reticulated in the deep. We understand chimerism with universal consequences, expanding well beyond the evolutionary tree-thinking of reductionism and determinism.