Species Delimitation, Discovery And Conservation In A Tiger Beetle Species Complex Despite Discordant Genetic Data., Daniel P. Duran, Robert A Laroche, Stephen J Roman, William Godwin, David P Herrmann, Ethan Bull, Scott P Egan

School of Earth & Environment Faculty Scholarship

In an age of species declines, delineating and discovering biodiversity is critical for both taxonomic accuracy and conservation. In recent years, there has been a movement away from using exclusively morphological characters to delineate and describe taxa and an increase in the use of molecular markers to describe diversity or through integrative taxonomy, which employs traditional morphological characters, as well as genetic or other data. Tiger beetles are charismatic, of conservation concern, and much work has been done on the morphological delineation of species and subspecies, but few of these taxa have been tested with genetic analyses. In this study, …

A Taxonomic List Of The Old World Genera In The Subfamily Hesperiinae (Hesperiidae) Arranged Into Tribes, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Leina Song, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

A taxonomic list of valid genera in the subfamily Hesperiinae from the Old World assigned to tribes is provided. This list is based on phylogenetic analysis of genomic sequence data complemented by morphological considerations. As a result, there are no incertae sedis non-fossil genera in the family Hesperiidae.

Additional Taxonomic Refinements Suggested By Genomic Analysis Of Butterflies, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Leina Song, Paul A. Opler, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Comparative analyses of genomic data reveal further insights into the phylogeny and taxonomic classification of butterflies presented here. As a result, 2 new subgenera and 2 new species of Hesperiidae are described: Borna Grishin, subgen. n. (type species Godmania borincona Watson, 1937) and Lilla Grishin, subgen. n. (type species Choranthus lilliae Bell, 1931) of Choranthus Scudder, 1872, Cecropterus (Murgaria) markwalkeri Grishin, sp. n. (type locality in Mexico: Sonora), and Hedone yunga Grishin, sp. n. (type locality in Bolivia: Yungas, La Paz). The lectotype is designated for Aethilla toxeus Plötz, 1882. The type locality of Dion uza (Hewitson, 1877) is likely …

Molecular Phylogeny Of Cave Dwelling Eremogryllodes Crickets (Orthoptera, Myrmecophilidae) Across Zagros Mountains And Southern Iran, Mohadeseh Sadat Tahami, Mina Hojat-Ansari, Anna Namyatova, Saber Sadeghi

International Journal of Speleology

Recently, several new species and subspecies from the genus Eremogryllodes Chopard, 1929 (Insecta: Orthoptera: Myrmecophilidae) inhabiting caves of Iran, have been described based on morphology. The high variation of genitalia structure along with high similarity of external morphology between populations hamper the precise species identification. Thus, molecular approaches are critical to determine the taxonomic positions of species/subspecies of this genus. Here we provide the molecular phylogeny, based on the 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene, of recently described species of Eremogryllodes along with some unidentified specimens from the same region. The results support the monophyly of the family Myrmecophilidae. The topology of …

Delineation Of Undescribed, Morphologically Cryptic Cave Beetles Of The Pseudanophthalmus Pubescens Species-Group (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae), Jedidiah John Nixon

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The genus Pseudanophthalmus Jeannel is a widespread and extremely diverse taxon of troglobiont beetle endemic to the karst of eastern North America, with its distribution centered in Tennessee and Kentucky. Despite lying near the heart of this region, the pubescens species-group was thought to contain many undescribed species. In this study, the validities of several of the late Dr. Thomas Barr’s unpublished putative new species in the pubescens-group were tested both morphologically and molecularly. Body measurements (length and width for head, thorax, and abdomen), as well as male genital morphology were compared to see if they reflected theorized species limits.. …

Evolution Of Hematophagous Habit In Triatominae (Heteroptera: Reduviidae), Fernando Otálora-Luna, Antonio J. Pérez-Sánchez, Claudia Sandoval, Elis Aldana

Harold W. Manter Laboratory: Library Materials

All members of Triatominae subfamily (Heteroptera: Reduviidae), potential vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, etiologic agent of the Chagas disease, feed on blood. Through evolution, these bugs have fixed special morphological, physiological, and behavioral aptations (adaptations and exaptations) adequate to feed on blood. Phylogeny suggests that triatomines evolved from predator reduvids which in turn descended from phytophagous hemipterans. Some pleisiomorphic traits developed by the reduvid ancestors of the triatomines facilitated and modeled hematophagy in these insects. Among them, mouthparts, saliva composition, enzymes, and digestive symbionts are the most noticeable. However, the decisive step that allowed the shift from predation to hematophagy …

The Cynipoid Genus Paramblynotus: Revision, Phylogeny, And Historical Biogeography (Hymenoptera, Liopteridae), Zhiwei Liu, Fredrik Ronquist, Goeran Nordlander

Zhiwei Liu

The genus Paramblynotus is the most species-rich genus of the so-called macrocynipoids, the large cynipoid parasitoids of wood-boring and cone-boring insect larvae. The species range in size from some of the largest to the smallest macrocynipoids, comparable in size to microcynipoids. Paramblynotus members occur on all continents except Europe and Australia, with most species being tropical or subtropical. The biology is poorly known but a few observations indicate that the species are parasitoids of beetle larvae. In this monographic revision of the genus, we present a species-level cladistic analysis based on qualitative and quantitative features of the external morphology. For …

The Cynipoid Genus Paramblynotus: Revision, Phylogeny, And Historical Biogeography (Hymenoptera, Liopteridae), Zhiwei Liu, Fredrik Ronquist, Goeran Nordlander

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

The genus Paramblynotus is the most species-rich genus of the so-called macrocynipoids, the large cynipoid parasitoids of wood-boring and cone-boring insect larvae. The species range in size from some of the largest to the smallest macrocynipoids, comparable in size to microcynipoids. Paramblynotus members occur on all continents except Europe and Australia, with most species being tropical or subtropical. The biology is poorly known but a few observations indicate that the species are parasitoids of beetle larvae. In this monographic revision of the genus, we present a species-level cladistic analysis based on qualitative and quantitative features of the external morphology. For …

Phylogenetic Approach To The Study Of Triatomines (Triatominae, Heteroptera) = Abordagem Filogenética Em Triatomíneos (Triatominae, Heteroptera), Ester Tartarotti, M. T. V. Azeredo-Oliveira, C. R. Ceron

Harold W. Manter Laboratory: Library Materials

Abstracts

Triatomines are insects belonging to the Hemiptera order, Heteroptera suborder, Reduviidae family and Triatominae subfamily. All members of this subfamily are hematophagous. Triatomines evolved from Reduviidae predators and they are probably polyphyletic in origin. The combination of anatomical, physiological and ethological factors observed in this group, as well as the plesiomorphic and apomorphic characters that differentiate the five tribes and fourteen triatomine genera reinforce the polyphiletic hypotesis. However if we consider the five groups of triatomines, the Rhodniini, Cavernicolini, Bolboderini, Linshcosteini and Alberproseniini tribes constitute monophyletic groups, while the Triatomini tribe is considered polyphyletic. The New World is the …