Evolution and classification of the Sabethini (Diptera: Culicidae) /
The tribe Sabethini as presently constituted includes 395 species currently treated as valid. Genus-group taxa worldwide were examined and morphological characters from larval, pupal, and adult life stages were evaluated. Forty-two sabethines representing all genera and most of the subgenera were...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1995.
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| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=742744781&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | The tribe Sabethini as presently constituted includes 395 species currently treated as valid. Genus-group taxa worldwide were examined and morphological characters from larval, pupal, and adult life stages were evaluated. Forty-two sabethines representing all genera and most of the subgenera were included in the cladistic analysis. Three outgroups (2 from Aedini, 1 from Culicini) were used to determine character polarities within Sabethini. For the first time, synapomorphies were found that confirm the monophyly of Sabethini. The genera Runchomyia, Tripteroides, Phoniomyia and Wyeomyia are not demonstrably monophyletic. The Wyeomyia subgenera Dendromyia and Wyeomyia are polyphyletic. Nomenclatural reconunendations include reduction of Limatus and Phoniomyia to subgenera. The data support the New World sabethines as a monophyletic group arising from a paraphyletic assemblage of Old World taxa. Since only the New World sabethines are vectors of arboviruses, these results indicate that "vector capacity" arose in sabethines after the breakup of Gondwanaland and separation of the Americas from Africa. This further suggests that the ability to vector arboviruses has arisen more than once in mosquitoes. The interaction of larval, pupal and adult character data were evaluated in terms of their overall contribution to cladogram topologies. A new procedure for assessing individual life stage contribution was developed to examine data from Sabethini. This procedure was found useful for examining large data sets with character conflict and offers an alternative to permutation and randomization methods for testing component stability. Concordance of stages was observed for stable components on the combined weighted cladogram, however, results indicate that no single life stage provides consistently robust hypotheses of relationship. Competition among characters from different data sets results in greater stability and more resolution than analyses utilizing individual life stages. The most reliable hypothesis is provided by combining data sets from all life stages. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Entomology". |
| Physical Description: | viii, 261 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilms Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |