Testing species limits in the highly variable scarab Cyclocephalasexpunctata (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae)
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Issue Date
2010-04-23
Authors
Moore, Matthew Robert
Advisor
Jameson, Mary Liz
Citation
Moore, Matthew Robert (2010). Testing species limits in the highly variable scarab Cyclocephalasexpunctata (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae). -- In Proceedings: 6th Annual Symposium: Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. Wichita, KS: Wichita State University, p. 149-150
Abstract
Members of the speciose genus Cyclocephala (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) exhibit intraspecific variation of elytral patterns and genital morphology, creating diagnostic difficulties that confound study of the group. This study aims to comprehensively describe and explain the maintenance of intraspecific variation in C. sexpunctataand C. brevisusing morphological, molecular and phylogeographic techniques. The mitochondrial gene CO1 was successfully amplified from C. sexpunctataspecimens. Preliminary analyses of data on elytral and pronotal patterns indicate that populations of C. sexpunctatafrom Panama and Guatemala have different frequency distributions of pattern classes. Variation in these populations is distributed along altitudinal clines.
Table of Content
Description
Paper presented to the 6th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Wichita State University, April 23, 2010.
Research completed at Department of Biological Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Research completed at Department of Biological Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences