Molecular phylogeny of the shining leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae: Criocerinae) with special focus on Lema (Fabricius, 1798)

The chrysomelid subfamily Criocerinae Latreille, 1807; commonly known as “shining leaf beetles” are a small and basal subfamily. Though, with nearly worldwide distribution, little is known about Criocerinae biology and evolutionary relationships (3 tribes, 20 genera and ~1500 species).  Most of criocerine diversity is found in one genus, Lema. This generic status has been determined mainly by morphological characters (tarsal claws, pronotal morphology, and elytral puncture patterns). Vencl et al., 2004 provided the first modern phylogenetic hypothesis of Criocerinae using 21 Central American species in 4 genera. This study, though valuable, was geographically skewed to Panamanian and Costa Rican species.  The present research aims to elucidate the internal phylogenetic relationship of Criocerinae by providing a bigger taxon sample than previous studies. I am currently developing a phylogenetic tree for 62 criocerine species using 3 molecular makers. In particular, it is desired to test the monophyly and internal position of the largest genus, Lema (Fabricius, 1798; ~1000 species), taking in account all previously proposed outgroups. Preliminary results suggest that Criocerinae is a monophyletic group; however multiple Lema species cluster according to their geographic distribution. Further analysis is need to confirm internal relationships of all the analyzed species.