Cladistic analysis of Reduviidae (Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha) based on morphological characters

Abstract

With more than 6600 species worldwide, Reduviidae (Insecta: Heteroptera), or assassin bugs, form the second largest and one of the most diverse groups of true bugs. The poor condition of the higher-level classification of Reduviidae is reflected by the facts that different authors recognize between 21 and 32 subfamilylevel names and that Reduviidae were never subjected to a rigorous cladistic analysis using an exemplar approach. In the present study, a cladistic analysis of higher-level taxa of Reduviidae based on 162 morphological characters and 75 ingroup and outgroup species is presented. Twenty-one subfamily-level taxa of Reduviidae were examined, accounting for 28 tribes. In addition to characters previously used for diagnosis in Reduviidae, information on recently published character complexes is used in the present analysis, supplemented with new character information gathered specifically for this project. Reduviidae are supported as a monophyletic group with Pachynomidae as their sister taxon. The major results of this study are the support of a sistergroup relationship of Hammacerinae with the remaining Reduviidae, the monophyly of the Phymatine Complex, the relatively basal position of Harpactorinae within Reduviidae as well as a novel hypothesis on the relationships within this group, and the sistergroup relationship of Ectrichodiinae þ Tribelocephalinae and their placement in a clade that also contains Emesinae, Saicinae, and Visayanocorinae. The analysis further supports a clade formed by paraphyletic Salyavatinae þ Sphaeridopinae, renders Vesciinae non-monophyletic, and demonstrates the polyphyly of Reduviinae. Pseudocetherinae are shown to group with some Reduviinae. Triatominae are supported as a monophyletic group and are nested among additional Reduviinae and Stenopodainae.

Notes surMicrauchenus lineola(Fabricius 1787), espèce termitophile et termitophage (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Harpactorinae, Apiomerini)

“…Le stylet maxillaire droit possède sur ses marges externes des processus cuticulaires lamelliformes nombreux et longs (fi g. 10). Les processus apicaux cuticulaires dits « fi ltrants » (Faucheux 1975) sont également longs, serrés et nombreux (Weirauch 2008). Chez les autres Apiomerini, les processus cuticulaires maxillaires sont beaucoup plus courts (fi g. 9) et dentiformes.…”

“…Stylet maxillaire droit : 9, Apiomerus geniculatus ; 10, Micrauchenus lineola ; 11, Salyavata variegata (Salyavatinae)." (Weirauch 2008). Absence de substance poisseuse le long des tibias : les tibias de M. lineola sont toujours « propres » contrairement à ceux des autres Apiomerini qui, soit enduisent leurs pattes de résine (Ponerobia bipustulata, Beharus cylindripes, certains Apiomerus) (Eisner 1988 ;Choe & Rust 2007), soit possèdent des glandes tégumentaires sécrétant de la glu (cas de certains Apiomerus par exemple) (Barth 1963 ;Bérenger & Pluot-Sigwalt 1997).…”

La première observation in natura de l’entomophagie dePanstrongylus geniculatus(Latreille 1811) hématophage vecteur de la maladie de Chagas (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

“…L'entomophagie facultative est connue chez les Triatominae, elle représente probablement un trait ancestral pour ces hématophages (souvent considéré à tort comme exclusif pour cette sous-famille) qui auraient pour origine une lignée d'Hétéroptères cimicomorphes prédateurs (ou plusieurs, sous l'hypothèse de polyphylie des Triatominae, voir par exemple Schaeff er 2003, Tartarotti et al 2006, hypothèse réfutée par Weirauch (2008) qui a soutenu récemment la probable monophylie de ce groupe). Ce caractère considéré comme primitif peut cependant conférer certains avantages adaptatifs aux espèces qui le possède.…”

Genetics and evolution of triatomines: from phylogeny to vector control

“…Morphological and molecular phylogenies are often used to validate one another and they can generate remarkably similar trees particularly at higher taxonomic levels (Weirauch, 2008;Weirauch and Munro, 2009). However, at lower taxonomic levels, the extensive plasticity of some species can result in morphological convergence or divergence, thus complicating taxonomic assignations (Lent and Wygodzinsky, 1979;Dujardin et al, 1999b).…”

“…This illustrates the importance of using as many characters as possible for robust taxonomies. A recent cladistic analysis of the assassin bugs (Reduviidae), which includes the Triatominae as well as non-hematophagous families, used as many as 162 morphological characters (Weirauch, 2008). DNA sequences are not immune to convergence (homoplasy) and phylogenetic analyses may depend on the number and types of sequence used, the amount of polymorphic sites they include and a variety of assumption about the rates of mutations (insertions, deletions, transitions, transversions), although these can be estimated independently.…”