Evolutionary patterns of hind wing morphology in dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae).
The shape of wings can be a good predictor of adaptations to different selective pressures and the value of wing features in taxonomy and phylogeny has long been recognized. In our investigation of the hind wing evolution of dung beetles (Scarabaeinae) we use geometric morphometrics combined with a cladistic approach. The variations of entire hind wings and of three specific regions of 80 dung beetle species were investigated using 19 landmarks and outline data. Extensive evidence indicates that the wing as a whole and the three separate regions were under different selective pressures. The detailed evolutionary patterns of the three regions and the reconstruction of the ancestral forms were computed by mapping the geometric morphometrics data onto a tree based on a cladistic character analysis.
Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Box 92, No. 1, Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China.
Ming
M
Bai
Rolf G
RG
Beutel
Ke-Qing
KQ
Song
Wan-Gang
WG
Liu
Hinggan
H
Malqin
Sha
S
Li
Xiao-Yan
XY
Hu
Xing-Ke
XK
Yang
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology