The morphology of the external male genitalia of Pentatomoidea (Insecta: Hemiptera)and its phylogenetic implications at family level

• Main Authors: Jing-Fu Tsai, 蔡經甫
• Other Authors: Man-Miao Yang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/98529516496701840284

博士 === 國立中興大學 === 昆蟲學系所 === 99 === The main goals of this thesis is to investigate the morphology of the male genitalia in Pentatomoidea with outlook on Heteroptera, to provide clear-cut definitions of male genital characters applicable throughout Pentatomoidea on comparative morphological basis, and to apply male genital characters to the higher classification of Pentatomoidea. In the first part, the embryonic development and main architecture of the male genitalia of the infraorders of Heteroptera are briefly reviewed. In order to correctly recognize the homologous structures among various taxa, the morphology of phallus of Pentatomoidea is treated in detail. Altogether 42 characters are carefully defined and their homologies elucidated; 3 of them have never been documented by previous authors, 12 characters which were controversially or erroneously used in the literature are redefined or reinterpreted; new names are proposed for 6 structures for which the term proposed by previous authors was controversial, misleading, or erroneous in some other respect. In the second part, results on particular pentatomoid groups (27 family, subfamily or tribe level taxa) are provided. The male genitalia of the examined species are described and illustra¬ted in detail, and the phylogenetic implications of the morphological observations are discussed. In most cases, it was possible to make hypotheses about the phylogenetic relationships of several pentatomoid taxa based on a careful morphological study. Among several phallic characters, the position of the gonopore, the organization of the endophallic efferent system, and architecture of the aedeagal complex have strong phylogenetic significance in various family group level clades of Pentatomoidea. The most important results are the followings: (1) Acanthosomatidae and Lestoniidae apparently form a monophyletic group. (2) Thyreocorinae and Corimelaeninae should be removed from the cydnoid complex, morevover, they are apparently not sister groups of each other. (3) Phloeidae is phylogenetically related to Canopidae, Scutelleridae, and the cydnoid complex. (4) Serbana has no phylogenetic relationship with Phloeidae, but most probably it is rather close to Pentatomidae. (5) The monophyly of a broadly defined cydnoid complex is not supported by male genital characters, at least Thyreocoridae, Corimelaenidae and Thaumastellidae should be removed. (6) The currently recognized Cydninae is certainly paraphyletic, i.e., Geotomini presumably forms a monophyletic clade with Cephalocteinae, whilst Cydnini is clearly an independent clade; in addition, Cydnini is clearly a paraphyletic group, because Garsauriinae is sister to some members of Cydnini (Chilocoris assemblage). (7) Dismegistus, unplaced so far, is apparently not a sister group of Parastrachia but it is rather nested within Sehirinae. (8) Sehirinae and Parastrachia probably form a monophyletic group. (9) Scutelleridae is impossible to define it based on male genital characters, and is possibly paraphyletic. (10) Cyrtocoridae is not related to Pentatomidae, but rather to Tessaratomidae and Dinidoridae. (11) Tessaratomidae and Dinidoridae are appreantly polyphyletic; Oncomerinae and part of Dinidoridae probably form a monophyletic group. (12) Aphylidae is closely related to Pentatomidae, which may be a subgroup of the latter.