Female genitalia are moderately informative for phylogenetic inference and not concerted with male genitalia in Saprininae beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae)

Abstract

Our study – the first of its kind within Histeridae (Coleoptera) – deals with the female genitalia in the subfamily Saprininae, with respect to their variation and utility for phylogenetic reconstruction. Morphology of female genitalia (chiefly characters of the spermatheca, and variation of the gonocoxites, articulating sclerites and gonostyli) is herein described and depicted. We perform parsimony‐based morphological phylogenetic analyses of Saprininae using combined datasets that comprise somatic, male and female genitalia characters. We assess phylogenetic utility of female genital characters and test for their correlation with male genital characters. We found that female genitalia are generally moderately informative for phylogenetic reconstruction. The somatic and male genitalia characters (on average) possess higher phylogenetic signal; female genitalia provide better support and diagnoses for particular clades (emphasizing their importance for systematics), in which the evolution of female genitalia can be linked to environmental factors imposed by the mode of life. Regardless of the degree of informativeness, structures of female genitalia represent an additional interesting and important source of information for systematics and taxonomy. We did not find any evidence of correlated evolution between male and female genitalia.

Saprininae: Phylogeny, biogeography and a new classification of the subfamily (Coleoptera: Histeridae)

“…nov. When studying female genitalia, Lackner and Tarasov (2019) already stated: ‘by the shape and configuration of their spermathecae these New Zealand endemics ( Reichardtia and Australopachylopus ) thus resemble species of Saprinus or Hemisaprinus ’. These two taxa probably evolved in isolation and adapted morphologically to life in sand.…”

New distributional record of Anthrenus dorsatus Mulsant & Rey, 1868 (Coleoptera, Dermestidae), Thessaloniki, Greece

“…As a result, there is nothing to compare the structure with. Whilst male genitalia are usually used in insect taxonomy (Song and Bucheli 2010), the structure of female genitalia is not without value (Lackner and Tarasov 2019). We are in the process of learning how to best identify species belonging to the Anthrenus pimpinellae complex.…”

Taxonomic review of theDichotomius mamillatusgroup (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), with a description of a new species,Dichotomius(Dichotomius)gandiniisp. nov., from western Amazonia

“…Özgül‐Siemund & Ahrens () demonstrated that female genitalia, besides bearing highly valuable taxonomic characters, play a critical role in the investigation of the evolution of Sericini chafers. Lackner & Tarasov () suggested that the evolution of female genital characters in Saprininae clown beetles may have been driven by both natural and sexual selection. These authors have found that the female genitalic system is more informative for supporting the phylogeny of some Saprininae clades, but generally, the informativeness of the male genitalia and exoskeletal characters was higher.…”

“…These authors have found that the female genitalic system is more informative for supporting the phylogeny of some Saprininae clades, but generally, the informativeness of the male genitalia and exoskeletal characters was higher. Nonetheless, both Özgül‐Siemund & Ahrens () and Lackner & Tarasov () emphasised the potential of using female genitalia characters in taxonomy and systematics, but more investigations are needed to understand their usefulness.…”