Phylogenetic analysis of the American genus Euphoria and related groups based on morphological characters of adults (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Cetoniini)

Abstract

AbstractThe phylogenetic relationships within the American genus Euphoria Burmeister (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Cetoniini) were examined. Fifty-seven adult morphological characters for 40 taxa, including 28 species of Euphoria, representatives of all current and previously recognized genera of Cetoniini from the American continents, and 10 representative genera of Cetoniinae (including five Cetoniini) from the rest of the world were studied. The Cetoniini appear monophyletic and supported by two unique synapomorphies in this study: the flange of the elytra-thorax articulation with a medial process and the posterior legs with a carina or row of setae in the internal angle of the femur. The genus Euphoria is paraphyletic as E. geminata (Chevrolat), appears outside the Cetoniini, a placement possibly due to the effects of convergence. Excluding E. geminata, Euphoria appears as two large monophyletic clades with these as sister to a monophyletic Chlorixanthe Bates. The recognition of Chlorixanthe and Euphoria as the Euphoriina is supported, excluding E. geminata. The recent synonymies of the genera Stephanucha Burmeister and Euphoriopsis Casey with Euphoria are strongly supported by the analysis.