The European stag beetle Lucanus cervus, widely distributed across Europe and in some Near East countries, is one of the best known coleopteran species listed in the European Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and it is considered a flagship species for conservation of saproxylic fauna. Lucanus tetraodon is a closely related species whose geographical distribution is still poorly known and debated. The two species have a sympatric occurrence in central Italy, and in some localities of these areas, many individuals show a mosaic of morphological traits that makes species assignment nearly impossible. We used both mitochondrial and nuclear markers to analyse these specimens. The mitochondrial results evidenced that the two species represent well-defined genetic entities with mitochondrial DNA introgression. This pattern could be the result of either hybridization or of a convergence of morphological characters under local selective pressures in areas of sympatric occurrence. The nuclear marker was polymorphic across the two species and therefore did not reveal hybridization, even if many are the supports to this phenomenon. The most plausible explanation for this genetic pattern is a very recent divergence of the two species which share a common origin and thus a common wg genotype.

When morphological identification meets genetic data: the case of Lucanus cervus and L. tetraodon (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) / Solano, Emanuela; Thomaes, Arno; Cox, Karen; Carpaneto, Giuseppe Maria; Cortellessa, Silvia; Baviera, Cosimo; Bartolozzi, Luca; Zilioli, Michele; Casiraghi, Maurizio; Audisio, Paolo Aldo; Antonini, Gloria. - In: JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH. - ISSN 0947-5745. - ELETTRONICO. - 54:3(2016), pp. 197-205. [10.1111/jzs.12124]

When morphological identification meets genetic data: the case of Lucanus cervus and L. tetraodon (Coleoptera, Lucanidae)

SOLANO, Emanuela;CORTELLESSA, SILVIA;AUDISIO, Paolo Aldo;ANTONINI, Gloria
2016

Abstract

The European stag beetle Lucanus cervus, widely distributed across Europe and in some Near East countries, is one of the best known coleopteran species listed in the European Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and it is considered a flagship species for conservation of saproxylic fauna. Lucanus tetraodon is a closely related species whose geographical distribution is still poorly known and debated. The two species have a sympatric occurrence in central Italy, and in some localities of these areas, many individuals show a mosaic of morphological traits that makes species assignment nearly impossible. We used both mitochondrial and nuclear markers to analyse these specimens. The mitochondrial results evidenced that the two species represent well-defined genetic entities with mitochondrial DNA introgression. This pattern could be the result of either hybridization or of a convergence of morphological characters under local selective pressures in areas of sympatric occurrence. The nuclear marker was polymorphic across the two species and therefore did not reveal hybridization, even if many are the supports to this phenomenon. The most plausible explanation for this genetic pattern is a very recent divergence of the two species which share a common origin and thus a common wg genotype.
2016
mtDNA; hybridization; Habitats Directive; stag beetles; Wingless
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
When morphological identification meets genetic data: the case of Lucanus cervus and L. tetraodon (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) / Solano, Emanuela; Thomaes, Arno; Cox, Karen; Carpaneto, Giuseppe Maria; Cortellessa, Silvia; Baviera, Cosimo; Bartolozzi, Luca; Zilioli, Michele; Casiraghi, Maurizio; Audisio, Paolo Aldo; Antonini, Gloria. - In: JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH. - ISSN 0947-5745. - ELETTRONICO. - 54:3(2016), pp. 197-205. [10.1111/jzs.12124]
File allegati a questo prodotto
File Dimensione Formato  
Solano_Morphological_2016.pdf

solo gestori archivio

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati (All rights reserved)
Dimensione 916.56 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
916.56 kB Adobe PDF   Contatta l'autore

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/850678
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 23
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 23
social impact