The Northeastern Tiger Beetle Cicindela d. dorsalis has undergone precipitous declines during the 20th century. Putatively diagnostic characters, previously identified from extant populations, are reexamined from DNA extracted from museum material from as far back as the late 19th century. Analysis indicates that such diagnostic features were in fact polymorphic across most of the (sub)species' range, and appeared as diagnostic only subsequent to the extinction of intermediate populations. Implications for character-based species delineation criteria are discussed.
Species 1: Coleoptera Carabidae Cicindela dorsalis (Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle)
Keywords: Phylogenetics, character fixation
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