ORCID
- Robert Puschendorf: 0000-0002-8105-171X
- David T. Bilton: 0000-0003-1136-0848
Abstract
Taxonomy underpins biological research because names are needed for comparative analysis, conservation status, and public communication. Despite this, many species remain undescribed and are therefore vulnerable and unprotected, particularly in the tropics. Neotropical Staphylinidae beetles (Coleoptera) are among the insect groups most likely to contain significant unknown and/or cryptic diversity. Here we used an integrative taxonomic framework to conduct a preliminary review of one particularly diverse genus of Staphylinidae (Anotylus) in Área de Conservaciόn Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica. We began by DNA barcoding novel collections and using Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) as an estimate of taxonomic diversity; we found 18 provisional new species. We augmented this genetic analysis with a morphometric analysis of adult morphological characters and found that we could differentiate most provisional species by external morphology as well as by elevation of collection. All the most abundant species could be differentiated from each other by differences in body size. One BIN included slight (~1%) genetic variation that corresponded with some morphological differentiation suggesting the existence of two species within a DNA BIN. Our results support the efficacy of DNA barcoding collections of tropical insects as an effective biodiversity estimator, one that can be used as a primer for integrative taxonomic studies using BINs as species hypotheses.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2024-07-25
Publication Title
Diversity
Volume
16
Issue
8
ISSN
1424-2818
Acceptance Date
2024-07-21
Deposit Date
2024-07-23
Funding
Research in ACG was supported by grants to M.A.S. by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The Government of Costa Rica, the Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund (GDFCF), and its individual private donors, and especially the Wege Foundation, provided valuable funding for portions of this research.
Additional Links
Keywords
BINs, DNA barcode, biodiversity, conservation, cryptic species
Recommended Citation
Underwood, K., Puschendorf, R., Bilton, D., Janzen, D., Hallwachs, W., & Smith, M. (2024) 'Decoding Anotylus (Thomson 1859) Beetle Diversity: DNA and External Morphology Match in Área de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica', Diversity, 16(8). Available at: 10.3390/d16080441
