title: Phylogeography and systematics of the westernmost Italian Dolichopoda species (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae).
abstract: The genus Dolichopoda (Orthoptera; Rhaphidopohoridae) is present in Italy with 9 species distributed from northwestern Italy (Piedmont and Liguria) to the southernmost Apennines (Calabria), occurring also in the Tyrrhenian coastal areas and in Sardinia. Three morphologically very close taxa have been described in Piedmont and Liguria, i.e., D. ligustica ligustica, D. ligustica septentrionalis and D. azami azami. To investigate the delimitation of the northwestern species of Dolichopoda, we performed both morphological and molecular analyses. Morphological analysis was carried out by considering diagnostic characters generally used to distinguish different taxa, as the shape of epiphallus in males and the subgenital fig in females. Molecular analysis was performed by sequencing three mitochondrial genes, 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, partially sequenced and the entire gene of COI. Results from both morphological and molecular analyses highlighted a very homogeneous group of populations, although genetically structured. Three haplogroups geographically distributed could be distinguished and based on these results we suggest a new taxonomic arrangement. All populations, due to the priority of description, should be assigned to D. azami azami Saulcy, 1893 and to preserve the names ligustica and septentrionalis, corresponding to different genetic haplogroups, we assign them to D. azami ligustica stat. n. Baccetti & Capra, 1959 and to D. azami septentrionalis stat. n. Baccetti & Capra, 1959.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, via della ricerca scientifica s.n.c. 00133 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuliana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Allegrucci
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "Charles Darwin", Università di Roma La Sapienza, Viale dell'Università 32, 00100 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rampini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "Charles Darwin", Università di Roma La Sapienza, Viale dell'Università 32, 00100 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Russo
authors.affiliation: Gruppo Speleologico Piemontese (Torino) and Gruppo Speleologico Alpi Marittime (Cuneo).
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lana
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, via della ricerca scientifica s.n.c. 00133 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cocchi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, via della ricerca scientifica s.n.c. 00133 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sbordoni
keywords: Westernmost Dolichopoda species; barcoding; systematics