Sympatric convergence of the color pattern in the Chilean Ceroglossus ground beetles inferred from sequence comparisons of the mitochondrial ND5 gene

The phylogenetic trees have been constructed using the mitochondrial ND5 ge ne sequences for 66 specimens of the Chilean Ceroglossus ground beetles col lected from various localities of Chile. The trees show that the Ceroglossu s specimens examined are composed of four phylogenetic lineages that have d iverged 25-30 MYA. The results are consistent with the classification propo sed by Jiroux (1996) based on morphology, in which Ceroglossus is divided i nto four species groups. Despite a remarkable color polymorphism revealed b y these ground beetles, the color pattern is geographically linked and is n ot species-specific, suggesting that some ecological or environmental facto rs are involved in determining it.