Abstract
Geometric morphometric and phylogenetic analyses, applied to 43 species of Russelliana, shed light on the evolution of insect wing shape. Unconstrained and constrained ordination techniques are introduced to detect patterns of the forewing shape variation within genus. Results show a high congruence between forewing shape variation and host-plant preference supporting monophyly of most phylogenetic groups in Russelliana. Reconstruction of the ancestral forewing state shows its similarity to a forewing shape of Solanaceae feeding species defined as ancestors by the phylogenetic study supporting a hypothesis as to a primary association of Russelliana with Solanaceae. In contrast to some other comparative studies on insect wing shape, results of the present study reveal a strong correlation between variation of forewing shape in Russelliana and its phylogeny. Potential influence of vicariant events and host shifts on the evolution of forewing shape is discussed.
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