Weevils of the Pantomorus- Naupactus complex: Cladistics and generic classification

ANALIA LANTERI; GUADALUPE DEL RIO; MARCELA RODRIGUERO; VIVIANA CONFALONIERI

San Miguel de Tucumán

Congreso; XXVII Meeting of the Willi Hennig Society and VIII Reunión Argentina de Cladística y Biogeografía.; 2008

The Pantomorus-Naupactus complex is a broad-nosed weevil group native to the Neotropical Region, ranging from the United States to Argentina. Some of its species exhibit parthenogenetic reproduction and have been introduced into other continents along with different crops becoming pests of agriculture. In a preliminary phylogenetic study published in Cladistics in 2005, we have analyzed the relationships of 17 species of this complex, using 30 morphological characters and sequences of the Cythocrome Oxidase I (COI) gene. In this opportunity we have enlarge the taxon sampling in order to incorporate all the generic name associated to the Pantomorus-Naupactus complex and to get a good representation of the character diversity included in the group. The present data matrix includes 70 species and 813 characters, 87 morphological (external plus female and male genitalia) and 726 molecular, the latter corresponding to 30 terminal taxa. The parsimony analysis was performed with NONA and TNT under equal weights, the morphological data set was run separately and combined with the molecular data set, and the support of the clades was evaluated with Jackknife. The combined analyses (traditional search with 1000 RAS, hold 10) resulted in 24 trees of 2201 steps, rooted with Teratopactus gibbicollis. The best supported groups correspond to the genera Teratopactus (mainly distributed in Brazil, Cerrado), Galapaganus (Galapagos archipelago and coasts of Peru and Ecuador), Alceis (endemic to Brazil, Atlantic forest), Phacepholis-Athetetes (Central America, Western México, and Great Plains of North America), Aramigus (southern Brazil to central Argentina) and Eurymetopus (same distribution as Aramigus).  Naupactus is not monophyletic and its species gather in three main species groups, two from South America (Naupactus sensu stricto with its type species N. rivulosus and related ones, and N. leucoloma group plus Mimographus) and one from México and Central America. The species traditionally assigned to Pantomorus gather in a polyphyletic  group along with those of Atrichonotus, Aramigus, Parapantomorus and Eurymetopus, being the Pantomorus from México (type species P. albosignatus endemic to that country) basal regarding to those from South America. The main difference between the morphological and the combined trees is in the position of Naupactus navicularis and N. dissimulator, which clear relationships with N. xanthographus and N. dissimilis based on morphology, are contradicted by the molecular information. The results obtained confirm a previous hypothesis of none monophyly of Pantomorus and Naupactus and help to interpret the evolution of some morphological characters, especially those of the female genitalia.