Name: DIEGO NUNES BARBOSA
Type: PhD thesis
Publication date: 12/04/2017
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Celso Oliveira Azevedo | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Cecília Waichert Monteiro | Internal Examiner * |
| Celso Oliveira Azevedo | Advisor * |
| GEANE OLIVEIRA DE LANES | External Alternate * |
| Kelli dos Santos Ramos | External Examiner * |
| Taissa Rodrigues Marques da Silva | Internal Examiner * |
Summary: Anisepyris is composed of 122 species, divided into 10 species-groups and distributed throughout the Neotropical and Southern Nearctic regions. These species-groups were defined more than 50 years ago and were based on a few species from the Nearctic and Central American regions. Studies after the definition of these groups showed that the species diversity of Anisepyris is concentrated mainly in the Neotropical region, in the areas near and below the Equator. Consequently, it was clear that defining species-groups based on species from the Nearctic and Central America was not consistent, since these regions do not have the representativeness of the diversity of species of the genus, which nowadays entails great difficulties in the recognition of these species-groups and their diagnostic characteristics. Based on the analysis of 3660 specimens from all over the American continent and 118 holotypes, an alpha-taxonomic revision of Anisepyris was carried out, in which 135 new species and 121 described species were recognized. Assuming Anisepyris as monophyletic group and based on previous studies, we ran cladistic heuristic search, based on external morphological characters and male and female genitalia, to investigate the evolution of lineages represented by species-groups, within the genus and whether they can be recovered as monophyletic. Two distinct matrices were made, one for male specimens and one for female specimens, because of sexual dimorphism, and to investigate how conservative and influential these characteristics are in relation to the evolution of the groups of species. As results, we could observed that: the characteristics defined as diagnostic for the groups of species were not recovered as synapomorphies of them; many of these groups are not monophyletic. Characteristics not previously observed and selected as diagnostic for the groups of species; restructuring of existing groups and recovery of new groups. From these results, the evolution of the characteristics of Anisepyris, as well as their influence on the diversity and distribution of the species within the Neotropical region and southern Nearctic region, became clear. The pattern is summarized in the following hypothesis: Anisepyris has a probable originated in the Neotropical region with later invasion of the Nearctic. This hypothesis is corroborated by the relation of discrepancy between the morphological characteristics of the species and the diversity attributed to the respective region. The direct relation is based on the fact that the greater the diversity, the smaller the discrepancy between the species, and the smaller the diversity, the greater the discrepancy observed among the species. In other words, new niches imply the selection of new characteristics and greater competition, which justifies the smaller diversity, greater number of peculiar characteristics and smaller distribution of the species of Anisepyris corresponding to the Neotropical region, Antilles and southern Chaco.
