Molecular systematics and morphological diversification in the genus Heteronotus (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Heteronotinae) focusing on the evolution of mimicry and crypsis

• Grant number: 14/01793-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: June 01, 2014
• End date: April 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Carlos José Einicker Lamas
• Grantee: Olivia Evangelista de Souza
• Supervisor: Jason R. Cryan
• Host Institution: Museu de Zoologia (MZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/21398-0 - Investigating patterns of morphological diversification in Heteronotus (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Heteronotinae), with emphasis on camouflage, mimicry and sexual dimorphism, BP.PD

Abstract

Heteronotus is the most species rich genus in the subfamily Heteronotinae, and shows complex arrangements of pronotal spines and nodes that are thought to mimic wasps, ants, or be cryptic. Heteronotus species also exhibit marked sexual dimorphism of pronotal structures. This characteristic, strictly associated to ant mimicry or camouflage, represents a unique condition in the subfamily. The proposed internship will be carried out at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in collaboration with hemipteran specialists Dr. Jason Cryan and Dr. Julie Urban. Nucleotide sequence data (8 genes) will be generated for at least one hundred representatives in the genus. The phylogeny of Heteronotus will be reconstructed focusing on two major goals: a) understanding the evolution of pronotal-related adaptive strategies, and b) delimiting of species in the H. delineatus complex. Geometric morphometric data (previously acquired in Brazil) will be analyzed in conjunction with phylogenetic inferences to understand the tempo and the mode of pronotal diversification in Heteronotus. (AU)

Scientific publications

(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)

EVANGELISTA, OLIVIA; SAKAIBARA, ALBINO M.; CRYAN, JASON R.; URBAN, JULIE M.. A phylogeny of the treehopper subfamily Heteronotinae reveals convergent pronotal traits (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Membracidae). Systematic Entomology, v. 42, n. 2, p. 410-428, APR 2017. (14/01793-7, 12/21398-0)

EVANGELISTA, OLIVIA; MARQUES DOS SANTOS, GUILHERME IDE; LAMAS, CARLOS EINICKER. An annotated catalogue of the Membracidae types in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadomorpha). Zootaxa, v. 3895, n. 1, p. 1-30, DEC 12 2014. (14/01793-7, 12/21398-0)