Testing the performance of a fragment of the COI gene to identify western Palaearctic stag beetle species (Coleoptera, Lucanidae).
Lucanidae) remains challenging, mainly due to the sexual dimorphism and the strong allometry in males. Such conjecture confounds taxonomic based conservation efforts that are urgently needed due to numerous threats to stag beetle biodiversity. Molecular tools could help solve the problem of identification of the different recognized taxa in the "Lucanus cervus complex" and in some related Palaearctic species. We investigated the potential use of a 670 bp region at the 3' end of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) for barcoding purposes (different from the standard COI barcoding region). Well resolved species and subspecies were L. tetraodon, L. cervusakbesianus, L. c. laticornis, as well as the two eastern Asian outgroup taxa L. formosanus and L. hermani. Conversely, certain taxa could not be distinguished from each other based on K2P-distances and tree topologies: L. c. fabiani / L. (P.) barbarossa, L. c. judaicus / an unknown Lucanus species, L. c. cervus / L. c. turcicus / L. c. pentaphyllus / L. (P.) macrophyllus / L. ibericus. The relative roles of phenotypic plasticity, recurrent hybridisation and incomplete lineage sorting underlying taxonomic and phylogenetic discordances are discussed.
Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Gaverstraat 4, B-9500 Geraardsbergen, Belgium.
Karen
K
Cox
Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Gaverstraat 4, B-9500 Geraardsbergen, Belgium.
Arno
A
Thomaes
Department of Biology and Biotechnology "Charles Darwin", Sapienza - University of Rome, via A. Borelli 50, I-00161 Rome, Italy.
Gloria
G
Antonini
Natural History Museum, Entomological section, Corso Venezia 55, I-20121 Milano, Italy.
Michele
M
Zilioli
Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Gaverstraat 4, B-9500 Geraardsbergen, Belgium ; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.
Koen
K
De Gelas
School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK.
Deborah
D
Harvey
Department of Biology and Biotechnology "Charles Darwin", Sapienza - University of Rome, via A. Borelli 50, I-00161 Rome, Italy.
Emanuela
E
Solano
Department of Biology and Biotechnology "Charles Darwin", Sapienza - University of Rome, via A. Borelli 50, I-00161 Rome, Italy.
Paolo
P
Audisio
Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, Penglais, Aberystwyth, UK.
Niall
N
McKeown
Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, Penglais, Aberystwyth, UK.
Paul
P
Shaw
7 Avenue Marc Sangnier, 13600 La Ciotat, France.
Robert
R
Minetti
Natural History Museum, Zoological Section "La Specola", via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze, Italy.
Luca
L
Bartolozzi
Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Gaverstraat 4, B-9500 Geraardsbergen, Belgium.
Joachim
J
Mergeay
COI; DNA barcoding; Lucanus spp.; Stag beetle; Western Palaearctic