PHYLOGENY OF WEST-AFRICAN CARYEDON (COLEOPTERA, BRUCHIDAE) - CONGRUENCE BETWEEN MOLECULAR AND MORPHOLOGICAL DATA

Seed beetles belonging to the Old World genus Caryedon feed in the see ds of various Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoideae, and Combretaceae. In an a ttempt to resolve broad phylogenetic relationships within the genus, w e obtained 332 base pair sequences of mitochondrial 12S ribosomal DNA and morphological data for the 16 West African Caryedon species. Morph ological characters were analyzed under maximum parsimony and sequence s were compared under maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and neigh bor joining. Using a partition homogeneity test, we determined that mo rphological and molecular data sets were combinable, Combined data wer e analyzed under maximum parsimony. Morphological and molecular trees were congruent at the species group level and total evidence analyses yielded the same topologies as molecular data with each of the three o utgroups used. Four main terminal clades are recognized, each correspo nding with a group of species generally feeding on the same host plant family, subfamily, genus, or species. The monophyly of legume feeding Caryedon is supported by both data sets, and Combretaceae feeders spl it in two monophyletic assemblages. (C) 1998 Academic Press.