A quantitative comparison of morphological characters common to both sexes in the family Phytoseiidae (Acarina: Mesostigmata)

Abstract

Morphological characteristics common to both sexes in 46 species, including exemplars from six genera and four tribes, of the family Phytoseiidae were compared interspecifically, intergenerically, and intertribally. The relationships between the sexes were quantified in terms of correlation coefficients and model II linear regression analyses, comparing the same set of morphological characters in both sexes. It is shown that there is a high degree of association between the males and females of a species despite their obvious morphological differences and that these relationships vary among some systematic groupings. The quantified differences shown between some taxa permit speculation on the phylogenetic relationships between the species studied. The quantitative relationships between the sexes in most cases are shown to be unique for males and females of the same species, offering a numerical method of identifying unknown male specimens. Many morphological characteristics are shown to be consistently shared by both sexes.

Busca de Tetranychus evansi e seus inimigos naturais no Peru e no norte da Argentina

“…Neste processo os exemplares coletados foram também comparados com as descrições originais de cada espécie e/ou com exemplares do Museu de Zoologia da ESALQ/USP. As redescrições e descrições de espécies novas foram feitas utilizando a nomenclatura dada por Rowell e Chant (1978) para setas dorsais e Chant e Yoshida-Shaul (1991) para setas ventrais, sendo as medições são apresentadas em micrômetros (µm). Para simplificar a apresentação dos dados, em cada espécie, os exemplares examinados, especifica-se o lugar de coleta da seguinte maneira: Departamento (em negrito e itálico), município, localidade (campo amostrado), coordenadas geográficas, data de coleta e planta hospedeira.…”