Taxonomic study and phylogenetic analysis of the genus Limnocoris Stål, 1860 (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Naucoridae)

• Grant number: 13/16654-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): March 01, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Duarte da Silva
• Grantee: Higor Daniel Duarte Rodrigues
• Host Institution: Museu de Zoologia (MZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 15/18338-3 - Taxonomic and phylogenetic study of the subfamily Limnocorinae (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Naucoridae), BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Naucoridae is a family of aquatic bugs, distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of the planet. It has approximately 400 valid species, divided into the 40 genera and five subfamilies (Cheirochelinae, Cryphocricinae, Laccocorinae, Limnocorinae and Naucorinae). In the Americas, of eleven genera recorded, Limnocoris Stål, 1860 is the second most specious with 71 valid species. Despite this diversity, there is no other article of revision of the genus, except Nieser & Lopez-Ruf (2001). In this article, the authors studied less than half of the species of the genus, which means only a fraction of the entire continental fauna. Phylogenetic relationships of Naucoridae, in relation to the families into the Nepomorpha, and within the subfamilies and genera within the family, have been targets of discussions and revisions. Traditionally, naucorids were classified in the superfamily Naucoroidea, which included the families Naucoridae, Aphelocheiridae and Potamocoridae. However, as a result of phylogenetic analysis involving morphological and molecular data, Hebsgaard et al. (2004) showed that this clade is not supported as monophyletic group. Thus, the authors created a new superfamily to allocate Aphelocheiridae and Potamocoridae (Aphelocheiroidea), leaving Naucoroidea only with the family Naucoridae. In the case of relationships of subfamilies in Naucoridae, only the work of Mahner (1993) using morphological data was carried until to date. In this article he proposed a cladogram for relations between the subfamilies, recognizing Laccocorinae as basal group, and specifically to the subfamilies endemic to the Americas, proposed Limnocorinae as sister group of Cryphocricinae, considering both monophyletic taxa. Given the lack of taxonomic knowledge and the lack of work involving the evolutionary relationships between species of Limnocoris, as well as among other Neotropical Naucoridae, a thorough study of the genus is needed to narrow the knowledge gap existent. The project aims to contribute to the knowledge of diversity, taxonomy and systematics of the genus Limnocoris. The project was developed in view of two hypotheses, the first related to the division proposed for groups of species of the genus (insignsis and maculiceps), which was performed without involving a phylogenetic analysis, and most likely are non-monophyletic. The second is related to the initial study of Mahner (1993) on the evolutionary relationships of Naucoridae, where proposed Limnocorinae, currently monotypic subfamily in which the genus Limnocoris inserted, as a monophyletic group. However, according to the author of the study and other subsequent, these relations require more studies and reviews, testing, especially the monophyly of Limnocorinae. The study of the specimens will consist of loan of type material from national and abroad collections, visit to the institutional collections, and material from future collections in Brazil, which will be performed with an entomological net. The identifications will be performed through the original descriptions and subsequent work involving morphological data. All species will be illustrated with photos and drawings, including the elaboration of a geographic distribution map. The characters will be coded in view of the homology primary hypothesis, and arranged in a matrix of data. To infer the phylogenetic relationships among taxa, will be use the cladistic method, performed from morphological characters, binary and/ or multistate. As external groups will be used a genus of each subfamily of Neotropical Naucoridae, beyond the genus Aphelocheirus Westwood, 1833 belonging to Aphelocheiridae, family closely related to Naucoridae in the analyzes available in the literature.

Scientific publications

(12)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RENAN CARRENHO; HIGOR D.D. RODRIGUES; ADRIANA CARNEIRO DE LIMA; CRISTIANO F. SCHWERTNER. Type specimens of true bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) housed in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo), v. 60, 2020-08-12. (13/16654-0, 15/50322-0)

RODRIGUES, HIGOR D. D.; SITES, ROBERT W.; GIEHL, NUBIA F. S.. Revision of the Neotropical genus Carvalhoiella De Carlo (Heteroptera: Nepomorpha: Naucoridae). Zootaxa, v. 4138, n. 3, p. 577-590, JUL 18 2016. (15/18338-3, 13/16654-0)

HIGOR D.D. RODRIGUES; LUISA FERNANDA ÁLVAREZ ARANGO. A new species of Oiovelia from Colombia, with notes for other three species of South American Veliinae (Heteroptera: Gerromorpha: Veliidae). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo), v. 59, 2019-10-03. (13/16654-0, 15/18338-3)

SITES, ROBERT W.; RODRIGUES, HIGOR D. D.; REYNOSO-VELASCO, DANIEL. New combinations, status, and species of Neotropical Ambrysini (Heteroptera: Naucoridae: Cryphocricinae). Zootaxa, v. 4323, n. 4, p. 503-518, SEP 25 2017. (15/18338-3, 13/16654-0)

FIGUEIREDO MOREIRA, FELIPE FERRAZ; RODRIGUES, HIGOR D. D.; BARBOSA, JULIANNA FREIRES; KLEMENTOVA, BARBORA REDUCIENDO; SVITOK, MAREK. New records of Gerromorpha and Nepomorpha (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from South America. BIODIVERSITY DATA JOURNAL, v. 4, 2016. (15/18338-3, 13/16654-0)

FIGUEIREDO MOREIRA, FELIPE FERRAZ; BURGUEZ FLORIANO, CARLA FERNANDA; RODRIGUES, HIGOR D. D.; SITES, ROBERT W.. Revision of the American genus Steinovelia Polhemus & Polhemus, 1993 (Heteroptera: Gerromorpha: Veliidae). Zootaxa, v. 4729, n. 1, p. 77-91, JAN 28 2020. (13/16367-0, 15/18338-3, 13/16654-0, 15/09491-2)

RODRIGUES, HIGOR D. D.; SITES, ROBERT W.. Revision of Limnocoris (Heteroptera: Nepomorpha: Naucoridae) of North America. Zootaxa, v. 4629, n. 4, p. 451-497, JUL 9 2019. (13/16654-0)

RODRIGUES, HIGOR D. D.; FIGUEIREDO MOREIRA, FELIPE FERRAZ. Four new species of Paravelia (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Veliidae) from Brazil, with notes on previously described species. CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, v. 148, n. 6, p. 642-667, DEC 2016. (10/08459-4, 13/16654-0)

BURGUEZ FLORIANO, CARLA FERNANDA; RODRIGUES, HIGOR D. D.. A new species of Oiovelia (Heteroptera: Gerromorpha: Veliidae) from Mesoamerica, with an identification key to the genus. Zootaxa, v. 4144, n. 4, p. 584-592, JUL 28 2016. (13/16367-0, 15/18338-3, 13/16654-0, 15/09491-2)

RODRIGUES, HIGOR D. D.; FIGUEIREDO MOREIRA, FELIPE FERRAZ. A new species and new records of Oiovelia (Heteroptera: Gerromorpha: Veliidae) from Brazil. Zootaxa, v. 4078, n. 1, p. 153-160, FEB 9 2016. (13/16654-0)

HIGOR D.D. RODRIGUES; FELIPE F.F. MOREIRA. A new species, new synonymy, and notes on Paravelia Breddin (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Veliidae). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo), v. 56, n. 17, p. 183-188, 2016-00-00. (13/16654-0, 15/18338-3)

RODRIGUES, HIGOR D. D.; DE MELO, ALAN LANE; FERREIRA-KEPPLER, RUTH L.. Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Oiovelia (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Veliidae). ACTA ENTOMOLOGICA MUSEI NATIONALIS PRAGAE, v. 54, n. 1, p. 65-98, 2014. (13/16654-0)