Planthoppers are a hyperdiverse group of phytophagous insects with a worldwide distribution. Some, such as the peanut bug, have been studied because of their striking morphology. Others, such as the “brown” and “white-backed” planthoppers (rice pests), and Hyalesthes obsoletus Signoret (a grapevine pest), have been studied because of their economic importance. But with more than 9,000 described species of planthoppers, a great deal remains unknown about the evolution, behavior, and distribution of these economically significant and intrinsically interesting insects.
Research into such a diverse group is facilitated by an accurate phylogeny to provide an evolutionary framework for biological study. Previous phylogenetic studies based on morphological and molecular evidence have produced equivocal results, with no clear consensus of the relationships among the 20 planthopper families.
We present the preliminary results from an ongoing phylogenetic investigation of the planthopper superfamily Fulgoroidea (Hemiptera), based on DNA nucleotide sequences from multiple gene regions. Exemplars representing approximately half of the fulgoroid families are included in this preliminary analysis (with more than 20% of fulgoroid species, the family Delphacidae is emphasized in our preliminary sample). Phylogenetic relationships are determined under the parsimony criterion, and statistical support for resulting topologies is evaluated via bootstrap values and partitioned Bremer support. Results of these analyses are compared with previous hypotheses concerning relationships among fulgoroid families.
Species 1: Homoptera Fulgoroidea (planthoppers)
Keywords: molecular phylogeny, Fulgoromorpha
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