Morphological variations based on geometric morphometrics between male and female pronota of Oxythyrea cinctella (Schaum, 1841) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae)

Yavuz Koçak,Ülfet Şahi̇n,Özkan Sarikaya,Aslı Doğan Sarikaya

doi:10.17474/artvinofd.985036

Abstract

In this study, pronotum size and shape were used as an exemplar characteristic to evaluate the utility of pronotal morphology on the sexual dimorphism determination of the scarab beetle Oxythyrea cinctella (Schaum, 1841). Using geometric morphometrics, the sexual size and shape dimorphism of pronotum of 85 specimens (45 females, 40 males) collected from Ankara Province (Turkey) were analyzed. Results of geometric morphometrics revealed that there is statistically significant sexual size and shape dimorphism in pronotum. Further, the mean centroid sizes of the females was significantly larger than that of the males. Finally, multivariate regression results indicated that size has negligible influence on the differentiation in pronotum shape between sexes. We hope the results here presented would be helpful for the further understanding of the sexual dimorphism in the beetle genus Oxythyrea.

Highlights

Oxythyrea cinctella (Schaum, 1841) belongs to the genus Oxythyrea Mulsant, 1842 in the subfamily Cetoniinae Leach, 1815 within the family Scarabaeidae Latreille, 1802
Internal or external rigid structures of the many insects such as pronotum, elytra, mandible, genitalia, horn, hind tibia, hind femur, metendosternite have been widely used in the geometric morphometric
Discriminant function analysis (DFA) with cross validation was performed to determine the degree of morphological distinction between sexes

Summary

Introduction

Oxythyrea cinctella (Schaum, 1841) belongs to the genus Oxythyrea Mulsant, 1842 in the subfamily Cetoniinae Leach, 1815 within the family Scarabaeidae Latreille, 1802. O. cinctella is an economically significant pest that has the potential to cause regular damage to agriculture and native ecosystems. This species was included in the lists of harmful fauna as examples reported in apricot orchards (Öztürk et al 2004, Apak 2021), cherry orchards (Tezcan and Pehlivan 2001), oil-bearing rose production fields (Demirözer and Karaca 2011, Demirözer et al 2011), temperate region fruit trees (Özbek 2008), ornamental plants and saplings (Kaygin et al 2008) in Turkey and the neighbouring countries (Modarres Awal 2006, Augul 2016, Bunalski et al 2016, Yusifov et al 2016). Internal or external rigid structures of the many insects such as pronotum, elytra, mandible, genitalia, horn, hind tibia, hind femur, metendosternite have been widely used in the geometric morphometric-

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