The order Mantodea is comprised of approximately 2,000 described species in ~10 recognized families. Despite their overwhelming diversity in morphology and habitat, and their attraction as popular insects, there has never been a formal phylogenetic analysis performed across the entire order. DNA sequence data from multiple genes were obtained from a wide range of exemplar taxa representing the major mantid lineages and outgroups. Phylogenetic analysis of these data provide insights into mantid phylogeny, and elucidate patterns of evolution and diversification within Mantodea.
Species 1: Mantodea (mantids)
Keywords: molecular systematics, phylogenetics
Back to Student Competition Ten-Minute Papers, Subsection A1. Systematics, Morphology, and Evolution
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Back to The 2002 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition