Molecular systematics of Blepharida beetles (Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) and relatives

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19 Scopus citations

Abstract

I investigated the phylogenetic relationships within the New World Blepharida and among related genera, using sequences of the Internal Transcriber Spacer 2 (ITS2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA and sequences of the COI and COII genes of the mitochondrial genome. Cladistic analyses were performed using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods. These methods generated almost identical topologies using the combined data sets. The analyses suggest that Blepharida rhois, the type species, should be separated from the New World Blepharida and that the New World Blepharida might be congeneric with closely related Notozona. Also, according to this phylogeny, all of the New World Blepharida species that feed on Bursera (Burseraceae) form a single monophyletic clade, with the Afrotropical species forming its sister clade. The analyses also identified four main groups of species within the New World Blepharida.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)107-117
Number of pages11
JournalMolecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
Volume30
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2004

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

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