PHYLOGENY OF THE GENUS HEGETER (TENEBRIONIDAE, COLEOPTERA) AND ITS COLONIZATION OF THE CANARY-ISLANDS DEDUCED FROM CYTOCHROME-OXIDASE-I MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA SEQUENCES

The genus Hegeter comprises 23 species of darkling beetles (Tenebrioni dae) endemic to the Macaronesian archipelagos, with 21 of them exclusi ve to the Canary Islands. We have sequenced 438 bp of the mitochondria l Cytochrome Oxidase I gene in 17 species (24 taxa) of Canarian Hegete r. Estimates of nucleotide composition, transition/transversion ratios and nucleotide change frequencies are very similar to those found in another tenebrionid Canarian genus Pimelia, indicating that similar mo lecular mechanisms are driving the sequence evolution. The sequence va riation found allows phylogenetic analyses of the genus and the deduct ion of colonization patterns. These involve sequential island invasion with more rapid establishment and radiation than found in the related beetles of the genus Pimelia.