The Journal of Heredity 1982:73(1):3-11
© 1982 The American Genetic Association 73:3-11
research-article |
Cladistic analysis of mosquito chromosome data (Anopheles (Cellia) Myzomyia)
Department of Medical Entomology, Southern African Institute for Medical Research PO Box 1038, 2000 Johannesburg, South Africa
Abstract
Homologies are presented among the ovarlan polytene chromosomes of the following taxa of the series Myzomyia, subgenus Cellia: Anopheles funestus, parensis, aruni ?, confusus, rivulorum, fuscivenosus, leesoni, demeilloni, wellcomei, and theileri from the Afrotropical region; and fluviatllis and culicifacles from the Oriental region. Rearrangements involve many paracentric inversions and a possible whole-arm translocation. A cladistic approach was used in constructing a phylogeny, and out-group comparisons were made with other species of the subgenus, primarily rufipes and Stephensi of the series Neocellia. Hypotheses were based on the ancestral/derived status of each of the two alternatives of the postulated inversions. Inadequacles of the cladistic methods available for analysis of these data are discussed. The resulting phylogeny showed five groups of taxa, funestus/confusus/parensis/aruni?; rivulorum/ fuscivenosus; leesoni/ fluviatilis/ culicifacies; dameillioni; and wellcomel/ thelleri. Intergroup relationships are not totally clear from this sample; an almost total discontinuity occurs between the first two groups mentioned above and the other groups. The existence of taxa-specific chromosomal arrangements permits, for the first time, an unequivocal means of direct identification of wildcaught adult females in routine malariometric studies of the disease in Africa.