Systematics of the New Caledonian endemic genus Taophila Heller (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Eumolpinae) combining morphological, molecular and ecological data, with description of two new species. (7th October 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: GÓMEZ‐ZURITA, JESÚS; CARDOSO, ANABELA
• Is Part Of: Systematic entomology. Volume 39:Number 1(2014:Jan.)
• Page Start: 111
• Page End: 126
• Publication Date: 2013-10-07
• Subjects: Insects -- Classification -- Periodicals; Entomology -- Periodicals; 595.7012
• DOI: 10.1111/syen.12038
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0307-6970

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="syen12038-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p id="syen12038-para-0001">The genus <italic>Taophila</italic> Heller, 1916 was considered a monotypic taxon until the recent addition of 11 new species. We examined the recent revision of this genus to evaluate these new taxonomic considerations in the light of molecular data for a sample of 85 individuals in 8 out of 12 <italic>Taophila</italic> species, and to provide characters for a phylogenetic systematic analysis of the genus. These data include two mitochondrial DNA markers (<italic>cox1</italic> and <italic>rrnS</italic>) and one nuclear DNA marker (<italic>wingless</italic>) to infer the species phylogeny, and one gene from the chloroplastic DNA (<italic>psbA‐trnH</italic>) of putatively ingested plant tissue for diet inference. Molecular data support the monophyly of the species studied, except for <italic>T. subsericea</italic> Heller, 1916, which possibly represents an ancient genetic polymorphism. The molecular phylogeny and a reassessment of morphological characters are used to propose several taxonomic changes that will achieve stable systematics in <italic>Taophila</italic>, including: (i) description of two new species, <italic>T. aphrodita</italic><bold>sp.n.</bold> and <italic>T. gaea</italic><bold>sp.n.</bold>, both related to <italic>T. mars</italic> Samuelson, 2010; (ii) removal of <italic>T. cancellata</italic> Samuelson, 2010 from <italic>Taophila</italic> and its new combination with <italic>Dematochroma</italic> Baly, 1864; (iii) proposal of two new subgenera in <italic>Taophila</italic> to reflect deep phylogenetic divergence and profound morphological discrepancies with the anatomy of the generic type and relatives, <italic>Jolivetiana</italic><bold>subgen.n.</bold> (type: <italic>Taophila mantillerii</italic> Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2007) and <italic>Lapita</italic><bold>subgen.n.</bold> (type: <italic>Taophila mars</italic> Samuelson, 2010). The analysis of putative diet sequences retrieved from all the species available for analysis show widespread associations with ferns and legumes, which can be traced back to the hypothetical common ancestor of <italic>Taophila</italic>, and an apparent generalist diet for the species in <italic>Lapita</italic><bold>subgen.n.</bold></p> <p id="syen12038-para-0002">This published work has been register in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:05F9C680‐3325‐409E‐A881‐C8A5AE1D136F.</p> </abstract>