The Namaini, a new weevil tribe with six new genera from South Africa (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae)

Meregalli, Massimo; Borovec, Roman; Cervella, Piero; Santovito, Alfredo; Toševski, Ivo; Ottati, Sara; Nakládal, Oto

doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa142

Cited by 8 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…A small barcoding gap between the mean of maximum intraspecific genetic distance and the mean distance to closest heterospecific is observed, even without comprehensive sampling and multiple sequences per species for most of the PBNWs in this study. However, this result is not unexpected for Coleoptera (Meier et al 2008, Bergsten et al 2012 or, indeed, in other groups that have been well sampled (Meyer and Paulay 2005). The significant geographic distance between many of the sampled specimens in taxa, where multiple sequences were obtained, probably contributes to the high intraspecific genetic distances here observed (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…The greatest challenge to successful barcoding of PBNW is undoubtedly inadequate taxonomic coverage of this group. The taxonomy of South African Entiminae is complex and many tribal/genus/species classification is still in the process of being resolved, with new species, genera and even tribes constantly being described (Meregalli et al 2021 (Borovec and Skuhrovec 2018, Borovec 2019, Borovec and Skuhrovec 2019, Meregalli et al 2021). Some 'older' genera like Eremnus still contain a multitude of undescribed species (Oberpri eler 1988).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Barcoding pest species in a biodiversity hot-spot: the South African polyphagous broad-nosed weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae)

Hansen

Addison

Benoit

et al. 2021

BDJ

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Polyphagous broad nosed weevils (Curculionidae: Entiminae) constitute a large and taxonomically challenging subfamily that contains economically significant agricultural pests worldwide. South Africa is a hot-spot for biodiversity and several species of indigenous and endemic genera of Entiminae have shifted on to cultivated plants, with some being phytosanitary pests. The sporadic pest status of many species (where the species has an occasional economic impact on the agricultural industry, but is not encountered often enough that is is readily recognisable by researchers and agricultural extension workers) and the presence of pest complexes and cryptic species represent an identification challenge to non-specialists. Furthermore, no comprehensive identification tools exist to identify immature stages that may be found in crops/soil. In this paper, a curated barcoding database with 70 COI sequences from 41 species (39 Entiminae, 2 Cyclominae) is initiated, to assist with the complexity of identification of species in this group.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barcoding pest species in a biodiversity hot-spot: the South African polyphagous broad-nosed weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae)

Hansen

Addison

Benoit

et al. 2021

BDJ

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“…A large part of the weevil diversity, however, is still undescribed in South Africa as shown by the description of entire new clades and a large number of new taxa in recent years ( e.g. , Haran, 2021; Meregalli et al, 2021). Among them, Entiminae is the largest subfamily of Curculionidae with more than 12,000 described species worldwide (Marvaldi et al, 2014; Oberprieler et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thanks to their worldwide distribution and very diverse morphology and biology, weevils are often used as models to investigate diversification patterns in relation to biotic and abiotic drivers (e.g., Baird et al, 2021;Condamine & Kergoat, 2021;Haran et al, 2021;Letsch et al, 2018;Toussaint et al, 2014). South Africa, and the CFR in particular, presents a high level of endemicity for weevil lineages, both at the generic and tribal level (Alonso-Zarazaga & Lyal, 1999;Meregalli et al, 2021;Oberprieler, 2014). Weevil diversity in this region reaches unusually high levels, as exemplified by the genus Brachycerus Olivier, which encompasses hundreds of species in the CFR while only 50 species are known in the southwestern Palearctic region (Oberprieler, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Weevil diversity in this region reaches unusually high levels, as exemplified by the genus Brachycerus Olivier, which encompasses hundreds of species in the CFR while only 50 species are known in the southwestern Palearctic region (Oberprieler, 2014). A large part of the weevil diversity, however, is still undescribed in South Africa as shown by the description of entire new clades and a large number of new taxa in recent years (e.g., Haran, 2021;Meregalli et al, 2021). Among them, Entiminae is the largest subfamily of Curculionidae with more than 12,000 described species worldwide (Marvaldi et al, 2014;Oberprieler et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late Cenozoic environmental changes drove the diversification of a weevil genus endemic to the Cape Floristic Region

et al. 2022

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The Cape Floristic Region in the Republic of South Africa is a well-recognized hotspot of biodiversity. Although this region is mostly known for its high level of plant diversity and endemicity, it also hosts an understudied and likely diverse arthropod fauna. Here we investigate the evolutionary history and timing of diversification of the apterous weevil genus Phlyctinus (Curculionidae: Entiminae), which is endemic to the coastal area and adjacent mountain ranges of the Cape floristic region and generally associated with sunflower plants (Asteraceae). We use a diverse array of molecular analyses (phylogenetic inference, molecular species delimitation and dating analyses) to analyse a novel molecular dataset of 202 weevil specimens (including 170 Phlyctinus sampled in 60 sites), and sequenced for two mitochondrial and four nuclear gene fragments. Phylogenetic and dating analyses indicate that the genus started diversifying in the late Miocene, with contrasting diversification dynamics for the three inferred clades, which present disjunct distributions. Host plant records and the lack of relatedness of species living in sympatry indicate that the diversification of Phlyctinus was predominantly driven by allopatric (geographic) speciation. We hypothesize that the interplay between topography and recurring cycles of coastline-habitat fragmentation resulting from sea level oscillations spurred the diversification of the most speciose clade, whereas in the two remaining clades populations likely remained connected thus hampering allopatric speciation. Interestingly, this pattern echoes with the role of sea level oscillations as an important driver of the radiation of several lineages in the coastline ecosystems of the Cape Floristic Region.

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Comparative assessment of heat tolerance in weevils associated with a fire‐prone ecosystem

Javal

Terblanche

Smit

et al. 2022

Ecological Entomology

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1. Fire is an important cause of disturbance which directly shapes many ecosystems worldwide. While the effect of fire on the distribution and regeneration of plant species has been widely documented, little is known on how phytophagous insects are reacting to these disturbances.2. This study explores the survival strategies of various weevil species, a highly diverse phytophagous beetle group in fire-prone ecosystems of the biodiversity hotspot of the Cape Floristic Region in South Africa. More specifically, we investigated how the lifestyle of species (location of larval development, phenology of adults, and flight ability) correlates with heat tolerance. We hypothesized that wingless species in particular will show better tolerance to heat as they have a limited ability to escape fire rapidly and usually remain hidden in the soil.3. The thermal tolerance of a set of sixteen species with divergent lifestyles and geographic distribution was measured using a standard heat knockdown protocol at 48 C. Respirometry was then performed on the most resistant species using a ramping protocol in order to determine CT max .

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The Namaini, a new weevil tribe with six new genera from South Africa (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae)

Cited by 8 publications

References 21 publications

Barcoding pest species in a biodiversity hot-spot: the South African polyphagous broad-nosed weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae)

Barcoding pest species in a biodiversity hot-spot: the South African polyphagous broad-nosed weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae)

Late Cenozoic environmental changes drove the diversification of a weevil genus endemic to the Cape Floristic Region

Comparative assessment of heat tolerance in weevils associated with a fire‐prone ecosystem

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