AN UNPARSIMONIOUS ORIGIN FOR THE HAWAIIAN METRARGINI (HETEROPTERA, LYGAEIDAE)

The current hypothesis for the phylogeny and origins of the Hawaiian M etrargini is tested using cladistic parsimony methods. The most parsim onious trees support the current hypothesis, but it is argued that com plex characters interpreted as homoplasious in the analysis are actual ly synapomorphies. A new phylogenetic hypothesis is reported, in which all the Hawaiian genera plus the New World genus Xyonysius Ashlock & Lattin form a monophyletic group. It is proposed that within the Metra rgini there were at least two and possibly three independent colonizat ions of the Hawaiian Islands from North or South America.