title: Morphometric study of third-instar larvae from five morphotypes of the Anastrepha fraterculus cryptic species complex (Diptera, Tephritidae).
abstract: The occurrence of cryptic species among economically important fruit flies strongly affects the development of management tactics for these pests. Tools for studying cryptic species not only facilitate evolutionary and systematic studies, but they also provide support for fruit fly management and quarantine activities. Previous studies have shown that the South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus, is a complex of cryptic species, but few studies have been performed on the morphology of its immature stages. An analysis of mandible shape and linear morphometric variability was applied to third-instar larvae of five morphotypes of the Anastrepha fraterculus complex: Mexican, Andean, Ecuadorian, Peruvian and Brazilian-1. Outline geometric morphometry was used to study the mouth hook shape and linear morphometry analysis was performed using 24 linear measurements of the body, cephalopharyngeal skeleton, mouth hook and hypopharyngeal sclerite. Different morphotypes were grouped accurately using canonical discriminant analyses of both the geometric and linear morphometry. The shape of the mandible differed among the morphotypes, and the anterior spiracle length, number of tubules of the anterior spiracle, length and height of the mouth hook and length of the cephalopharyngeal skeleton were the most significant variables in the linear morphometric analysis. Third-instar larvae provide useful characters for studies of cryptic species in the Anastrepha fraterculus complex.
authors.affiliation: Universidad del Tolima, Barrio Altos de Santa Helena, Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia, CP 73000629.
authors.forename: Nelson A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Canal
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ecología A.C., Red de Interacciones Multitróficas. Carretera antigua a Coatepec # 351, El Haya. Xalapa, Veracruz 91070, México.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hernández-Ortiz
authors.affiliation: Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas, Departamento Ciencias de la Vida, Carrera de Ciencias Agropecuarias (IASA I), Laboratorio de Entomología, PO Box 171-5-231-B, Sangolquí, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Juan O Tigrero
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Salas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, 05508-900 São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Selivon
keywords: South American fruit fly; geometric morphometry; immature; linear morphometry; morphotypes; taxonomy