Phylogeography and systematics of the westernmost Italian Dolichopoda species (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae)

By

Allegrucci, Giuliana
Rampini, Mauro
Di Russo, Claudio
Lana, Enrico
Cocchi, Sara
Sbordoni, Valerio

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2014

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

437

Pages

1-23

Subjects

Barcoding , systematics , Westernmost Dolichopoda species

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.437.7917

 

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 plate 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 Baccetti & Capra, 1959, stat. n. and to D. azami septentrionalis Baccetti & Capra, 1959, stat. n.