Biogeographic studies within the Neotropical Romaleinae (Orthoptera, Acridoidea, Romaleidae)

CONFALONIERI V.A.; CIGLIANO M. M.; GUZMAN N. V.; SONG, HOJUN; POCCO, MARTINA

Congreso; XXXII Congresso Brasileiro de Zoologia. VII Simpósio de Orthoptera: Desafios e perspectivas para a Orthopterologia na América Latina; 2018

Grasshoppers of the subfamily Romaleinae (Acridoidea, Romaleidae) are distributed in the Americas in a wide range of habitats, being mostly represented in the Neotropical Region. This group of colorful insects, with more than 250 valid species included in ten tribes, covers the entire range of distribution of the family, extending from southern South America (Argentina and Chile) to the south of the Nearctic region, where it is represented by few members. Assuming that Romaleinae constitutes a natural group, alternative ideas arise about the origin and diversification of this subfamily. Most of the hypotheses agree on a South American tropical origin of the group (Carbonell, 1977; 1986). However, based on a morphological perspective, northamerican romaleids were considered to be more primitive than southamerican ones (Amedegnato, 1977; Rowell, 2013). This study aims to elucidate the biogeographical history of the Romaleinae, based on a morphological and molecular phylogeny conducted on a comprehensive taxon sampling including most of the tribes of Romaleinae and members of the most closely related families (Song et al., 2015). We applied different methods to trace the biogeographic patterns and analyze the diversification processes that may have occurred within the group. Based on our biogeographic analyses, we test and discuss the South American hypothesis of origin and diversification postulated for this group, providing new insights into the evolutionary history of the Neotropical Romaleinae.