CLADISTIC AND PHENETIC STUDIES OF GENERA OF AFROTROPICAL CRYPTOBIINA (COLEOPTERA, STAPHYLINIDAE, PAEDERINAE) .2. THE PHENETIC APPROACH

The phenetics of 12 genera of Afrotropical Cryptobiina have been analy sed by multivariate statistics. Three analyses (principal component an alysis, canonical discriminant analysis and cluster analysis) have bee n used to determine the relative positions of the taxa in a morphospac e. These analyses have allowed us to confirm the generic divisions bas ed on alpha-systematic and phylogenetic grounds. While phenetic system atics and cladistic systematics have often been opposed, this study sh ows that both approaches are, in the end, complementary. Phenetical an alysts allow in addition to a quantitative definition of the genera, t he isolation of ethological or ecological characters, while the cladis tic approch gives to them precision and a phylogenetic sense. The thre e types of analyses point out the importance in Cryptobiina of the siz e, length of the scapus and width of the neck, all three characters wh ich also designated as significant characters by the phylogenetic anal ysis.