Molecular systematics of the Dichopetala genus group (Orthoptera: Phaneropteridae)

Introduction: The Dichopetala genus group was proposed recently after revision of the genus Dichopetala Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878. Currently, the group consists of eight genera and 44 species distributed from Southern United States to Southern Mexico. This generic arrangement was based solely on morphological evidence, and was accompanied by discussions on new erected genera, for which their monophyly was not tested. Objective: To assess the phylogenetic relationships among representative species of the eight genera of the Dichopetala group. Methods: We generated DNA sequences for one mitochondrial (Cytochrome oxidase I: COI) and two nuclear (28S, Histone III: H3) gene markers, and included species of other Phaneropterinae genera to test the monophyly of the ingroup; Bayesian and maximum likelihood evolutionary models were used. Results: The monophyly of the Dichopetala group and the monophyly of genera Dichopetala. Obolopteryx. Planipollex, Mactruchus and Rhabdocerca is supported. In addition, Acanthorintes and Pterodichopetala were recovered as paraphyletic. The mitochondrial markers also suggest that the widely distributed genera Rhabdocerca and Acanthorintes may actually contain various overlooked species. Conclusions: The first contribution on the Phylogeny of the Dichopetala group, and a more robust phylogenetic and morphological definition of some of the genera involved are provided.