Abstract
Abstract- A cladistic analysis of the endemic South American family Tristiridae was performed using 29 characters from external morphology and the genitalia. Polarity of characters was based on the outgroup comparison method. One most parsimonious cladogram of 54 steps was obtained, from which a classification of the family Tristiridae was constructed. The analysis of phylogenetic relationships showed that the different kinds of characters define taxa at different levels in the cladogram. Those mostly from the phallic complex define suprageneric taxa while those from external morphology characterize genera. It is hypothesized that in Tristiridae differentiation of the phallic complex preceded differentiation of external morphology and that characters from the phallic complex arc less conservative than those from the external morphology.
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