Abstract
A comparative analysis of 30 species of the Dolichopodidae family in a phylogenetic context was conducted to examine interspecific variation in the legs morphometry. Five relative traits of legs from 12 and seven absolute traits from nine showed significant phylogenetic signal. A set of traits, such as relatively short hind tibia and relatively long fore and middle tibia and the first segments of the hind legs allowed to allocate Dolichopus species from the other ones. The projection of the phylogenetic tree of Dolichopus species into the morphospace allowed us to divide it into four individual areas: not closely related species, but species having similar modifications of males legs tended to cluster. This suggests that the legs morphometric traits should be mainly under pressure of sexual selection. It has also been revealed that the elongation of the first segment of hind tarsi in Dolichopus species is associated with the distal displacement of the insertion point of dm-m with M4 and the decrease of the length of R4+5 . The functional significance of these characters set is discussed.
Highlights
Morphometric methods linked with DNA-based molecular genetic analysis represent a powerful new approach for taxonomic issues resolving and evolutionary process study [1, p. 11]
It becomes quite obvious that to reveal evolutionary trends it is necessary to analyze a wide range of traits and evaluate their phylogenetic signal, because morphological similarity does not necessary mean a common origin, but may be the result of parallel evolution, especially in functional morphostructures, for example, wings or legs which are developed under intense selection pressure
Species of the genus Dolichopus Latreille, 1796 represent a suitable model group for morphometric traits variation study for the following reasons: firstly, according to recent studies based on molecular and morphological traits, it is a single evolutionary unit [7, p. 21; 8, p. 310], and, secondly, leg modifications in males of this genus are diverse: there are extensions, plumage of certain legs segments (Dolichopus remipes Wahlberg, 1839) or their silver colorings (Dolichopus argyrotarsus Wahlberg, 1850), sometimes there are ornamented tibia (Dolichopus lepidus Staeger, 1842), or ornamented tibia combined with a modified tarsi shape (Dolichopus plumipes (Scopoli, 1763))
Summary
Morphometric methods linked with DNA-based molecular genetic analysis represent a powerful new approach for taxonomic issues resolving and evolutionary process study [1, p. 11]. Ornamented legs are commonplace in the Dolichopodidae and they, as shown for certain species, can be used in courtship or in male–male interactions. Such traits are widely used for taxonomic identification of the species [2, p. 14] Male Dolichopus plumipes (Scopoli, 1763) uses bilateral feathering first segment of middle tarsi in courtship as follows. 310], and, secondly, leg modifications in males of this genus are diverse: there are extensions (for example, Dolichopus claviger Stannius, 1831 and D. migrans Zetterstedt, 1843), plumage of certain legs segments (Dolichopus remipes Wahlberg, 1839) or their silver colorings (Dolichopus argyrotarsus Wahlberg, 1850), sometimes there are ornamented tibia (Dolichopus lepidus Staeger, 1842), or ornamented tibia combined with a modified tarsi shape (Dolichopus plumipes (Scopoli, 1763)). The purpose of this paper is a comparative study of the legs morphometric diversity of Dolichopodidae species and the estimation of their phylogenetic signal by molecular phylogeny mapping
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