6 



determine phylogenetic trends in them as an indication of possible relationships between 

 the groups (d'Hotman & Scholtz 1990a,b; Nel & Scholtz 1990; Scholtz 1990; Browne et 

 al. 1993; Browne & Scholtz 1994, 1995; Scholtz & Browne in press; Scholtz et al. 1994, 

 submitted). These studies are complementary to the ones undertaken by various authors 

 over the past 20 years (see above). However, because of the magnitude of this project and 

 because of the lack of published data on comparative morphology of scarabaeoid hind 

 wing articulation and wing base and the difficulty of interpreting phylogenetic trends, it 

 was decided to separate the comparison of the morphological structures from the analysis 

 of phylogenetic trends in hind wing articulation and wing base structure. The former is 

 reported here and the latter will be dealt with in a separate communication to be published 

 later. 



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 



We are very grateful to Dr. J. Kukalovä-Peck (Carleton University, Ottawa) who 

 contributed significantly to this project, and also for critical comments on various drafts 

 of this manuscript. 



For loan of material we thank Dr. S. Endrödi-Younga (Transvaal Museum, Pretoria), Dr. 

 D. Carlson (California), Prof. J. Doyen (University of California, Berkeley), Dr. A. Hardy 

 (Department of Food and Agriculture, California), Prof. E. Holm (University of Pretoria), 

 Prof. H. Howden (Carleton University, Ottawa), Mr. M. Kerley (The Natural History 

 Museum, London), Mrs. J. McNamara (Biosystematics Research Institute, Ottawa), Dr. O. 

 Merkl (Hungarian Museum of Natural History, Budapest) and Prof. S. Peck (Carleton 

 University, Ottawa). 



The senior author is especially grateful to the following people for extending their 

 courtesies throughout the duration of this project: Mary and Ronald Browne (Ottawa), 

 Catherine Yarymowich (Toronto), Gustav Praekelt, Marianne and Clarke Scholtz 

 (Pretoria), Ron Boyd, Henry Howden, Glen Kit, Jarmila Kukalovä-Peck, Stewart Peck and 

 Mike Weber (Carleton University, Ottawa). 



This work was funded by grants from the Foundation for Research Development of South 

 Africa and The University of Pretoria. 



MATERIAL AND METHODS 



In this contribution we present the database of a major report of the cladistic relationships 

 of the families of Scarabaeoidea based on characters of the hind wing articulation and 

 hind wing base (Browne 1993). More than 250 genera, representing all of the major 

 scarabaeoid taxa from most geographical regions, were examined. 



Specimen preparation and examination 



All material examined was either dried museum specimens or prepared slides. Besides 

 material from our own collection, dried museum material was also obtained from Prof. J. 



