Phylogenetic assessment of the Caribbean weevil genus Lachnopus Schoenherr (Coleoptera:Curculionidae:Entiminae)

Abstract

The genus Lachnopus Schoenherr (Coleoptera : Curculionidae : Entiminae : Geonemini Gistel), with 66 species described to date, is the largest and most widespread entimine weevil genus in the Caribbean region. The monophyly and internal phylogenetic composition of Lachnopus are tested, using a cladistic analysis of 61 adult morphological characters of 31 ingroup species and five outgroup taxa representing the genera Diaprepes Schoenherr, Exophthalmus Schoenherr, Pachnaeus Schoenherr (all Eustylini), Ischionoplus Chevrolat (Geonemini) and Apodrosus Marshall (Polydrusini). The analysis produced two most parsimonious cladograms with a length of 167 steps, a consistency index of 36 and a retention index of 73. According to the strict consensus and preferred character state optimisations, the examined species of Lachnopus do not form a monophyletic entity, even though most species are placed in a major L. coffeae–L. guerinii ingroup clade, which stands in sister relationship to Ischionoplus. This major clade is constituted by at least three well-recognisable subgroups, each associated with a particular geographic range in the Caribbean region: (1) a widely distributed L. coffeae–L. lineicollis ‘grade’; (2) the Hispaniolan L. proteus–L. mercator clade; (3) and the L. hispidus–L. guerinii clade with species from Cuba, Florida and Jamaica. This study provides a sound phylogenetic basis for future revisions of Lachnopus and related geonemine genera.

Phylogenetic reassessment of the Exophthalmus genus complex (Curculionidae: Entiminae: Eustylini, Geonemini)

“…Coded as inapplicable in taxa that lack the characteristic Lachnopus scale type and arrangement (see characters 69 and 70). Synapomorphy for the Lachnopus vittatus–Lachnopus planifrons clade (see also Girón & Franz, 2012). This character varies considerably among individuals and species. Elytra, vestiture, presence of marmorated scale pattern ( Eustylus type): (0) elytral scales either (largely) absent or not arranged in a marmorated pattern; (1) elytral scales characteristically arranged in a marmorated pattern of variously light‐beige to dark‐brown scales, forming broad, obliquely transverse, multicoloured stripes on elytra (Fig.…”

“…Applicability as in character 89. Synapomorphy for the Lachnopus inconditus–Lachnopus planifrons clade (see also Girón & Franz, 2012). Aedeagus, vestiture, presence of setae dorsal subapical region: (0) aedeagus without setae in dorsal subapical region; (1) aedeagus with small groups of short, recurved setae in dorsal subapical region (Fig.…”

“…Accordingly, state (1) is synapomorphic for the Lachnopus coffeae–Lachnopus planifrons clade, with a reversal in Lachnopus inconditus Rosenschoeld, 1840; state (2) is synapomorphic for the Exophthalmus sulcicrus–Exophthalmus jekelianus clade (apparently correlated with character 122); and state (3) is synapomorphic for Diaprepes (apparently correlated with character 86). See also Franz (2010a) and Girón & Franz (2012) (l = 4; ci = 75; ri = 92). Female sternum VIII, shape of posterior end of stylus (apodeme), presence of star‐like sclerotized structure: (0) stylus posteriorly not star‐like, typically transitioning into lamina via laterally arched arms (Fig. 87); (1) stylus posteriorly star‐like, with short (acute) lateral and longer posterior arms, all diverging at nearly 90° from each other (Fig.…”

Five new species from the subfamily Entiminae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Dominican amber

“…The tribe Eustylini is only known in the New World. The extent of the tribe and phylogenetic relationships have been recently studied (Franz, 2010(Franz, , 2012Girón and Franz, 2012). The genera Diaprepes and Lachnopus are represented by several species in Hispaniola (Perez-Gelabert, 2008) but this is the first record of a fossil of the genus Diaprepes.…”

Three new species of entimine weevils in Early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

“…Although the taxonomic novelty of these inclusions had been recognized by systematists for nearly ten years, the challenge of placing them confidently into existing classifications has precluded their formal naming and description (Steven R. Davis and Michael S. Engel, personal communication). This circumstance has changed after the publication of revisionary and phylogenetic treatments, including Franz and Girón 2009, Franz 2010a, Girón and Franz 2012, Zhang et al 2017, and an unpublished, multi-locus molecular phylogenetic analysis of Neotropical entimine weevils with nearly 250 terminals (in preparation). In particular, novel integration of the amber-preserved specimens with the morphological cladistic analysis of reveals their genus-level identity and uniqueness in relation to the therein recognized extant lineages and terminals.…”