Redescription and phylogenetic relationships of Dryptocephala spinosa Mayr (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae, Discocephalini)

Abstract

Studies of the phylogenetic relationships and the biology of animal groups are fundamental to understanding the evolutionary history of the diversity of life and the environment in which these individuals live. Insects have great importance to these studies for they represent an abundant lineage. The proposal of this project is to redescribe the morphology of the Dryptocephala Spinosa and to study aspects of its biology in the natural environment. Males have never been collected and their phylogenetic position, occurrence area, relations with host plants, and other biological data are totally unknown. All information obtained in this study will be organized in a data matrix from which will be made a cladistic analysis to determine one hypothesis of the phylogenetic relationship with other species of the genus. Besides contributing to the comprehension of the phylogeny of the Pentatomidae family, this work increases the knowledge of the Atlantic Forest diversity, in which recently D. spinosa was registered.(AU)