Phylogenetic analysis of the predatory plant bug subfamily Deraeocorinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) based on molecular and morphological data

Abstract

The first comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of the plant bug subfamily Deraeocorinae is presented. A total of 86 morphological characters and 3899 base pairs of mitochondrial (16S, COI) and nuclear (18S, 28S) sequences were analysed separately for each partition and combined datasets, using parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. The fossil species Amberderaeous gigophthalmusKim, Taszakowski & Jung, 2020 was analysed in the morphological and combined datasets in order to assess its systematic position. The phylogenetic results revealed that Deraeocorinae as presently constituted is not monophyletic, with the tribe Termatophylini nested separately to the other deraeocorine supraspecific lineages analysed. The remaining Deraeocorinae was found to be monophyletic as well as Clivinemini, Hyaliodini and Saturniomirini. Clivinemini + Saturniomirini is the sister group of the remaining Deraeocorinae. Deraeocorini, which is the most diverse tribe in the subfamily, was found to be non-monophyletic, with Surinamellini nested within it. Based on the results, we proposed that the clade including the questionably placed taxa and a temporarily placed fossil taxon is synonymized from Surinamellini to Deraeocorini, and that Surinamellini is treated as paraphyletic. The nominate genus Deraeocoris s.l. was found to be non-monophyletic. Termatophylini was provisionally retained within Deraeocorinae, pending broader taxon sampling of Deraeocorinae and other mirid subfamilies.