Comparative morphology of the spermatheca in Megalopodidae (Coleoptera, Chrysomeloidea)1

By

Rodriguez, Geovanni
Zaragoza Caballero, Santiago
López-Pérez, Sara

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2017

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

720

Pages

47-64

Subjects

female genitalia , flagellum , Megalopodinae , Palophaginae , taxonomic significance , Zeugophorinae

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.720.14088

 

Abstract

The spermatheca is an organ that stores and maintains viability of sperm until fertilization. It has an important role in copulation and oviposition, and it is highly informative in species delimitation. Here, we present a comparative study of the spermathecal morphology in the coleopteran family Megalopodidae. The spermathecae of 34 species, representing 13 genera and all three subfamilies, were studied. Illustrations are newly provided for all species, except in 14 cases in which illustrations were reproduced from previously published literature. Our results show that each subfamily of Megalopodidae can be effectively differentiated based on the particular spermathecal anatomy. In addition, the spermathecal anatomy presents a range of variation within each subfamily, useful for diagnosing species and, in some cases, identifying groups of genera. For instance, the “American group” is thus recognized in this study.