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Metrosideros-feeding psyllids of the Hawaiian Islands

Abstract of publication: The Hawaiian psyllids (Psylloidea, Triozidae) feeding on Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) constitute a remarkable radiation of more than 35 species. This monophyletic group has diversified on a single, highly polymorphic host plant species, Metrosideros polymorpha. Eleven Metrosideros-feeding species included in the Insects of Hawaii by Zimmerman are redescribed, and an additional 25 new species are described. Contrary to previous classifications that placed the Metrosideros-feeders in two genera, Trioza Foerster, 1848 and Kuwayama Crawford, 1911, all 36 named species are placed in Pariaconus Enderlein, 1926; and the relationship of this genus to other Pacific taxa within the family Triozidae, and other Austro-Pacific taxa feeding on host plants in Myrtaceae is clarified. The processes of diversification in Pariaconus include shifts in galling habit, geographic isolation within and between islands, and preferences for different morphotypes of the host plant. Four species groups are recognized: the bicoloratus and minutus groups are free-living or form pit galls, and together with the kamua group (composing all of the Kauai species) form a basal assemblage; the more derived closed gall species in the ohialoha group are found on all major islands except Kauai. The diversification of Pariaconus has likely occurred over several million years. Within island diversification is exemplified in the kamua group, and within species variation in the ohialoha group, but species discovery rates suggest this radiation remains undersampled. Mitochondrial DNA barcodes are provided for 28 of the 36 species. Genetic divergence, intraspecific genetic structure, and parallel evolution of different galling biologies and morphological traits are discussed within a phylogenetic framework. Outgroup analysis for the genus Pariaconus and ancestral character state reconstruction suggest pit-galling may be the ancestral state, and the closest outgroups are Palaearctic-Australasian taxa rather than other Pacific Metrosideros-feeders.

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Cite this as

Diana Percy (2017). Metrosideros-feeding psyllids of the Hawaiian Islands [Data set]. Natural History Museum. https://doi.org/10.5519/0097165
Retrieved: 01:52 20 Apr 2024 (UTC) BibTeX

Additional Info

Field Value
Affiliation Natural History Museum
Primary contributors
Percy, Diana
Other contributors
Temporal extent 2002-2015
Last updated January 11, 2017
Last resource update January 11, 2017 (Collections data and specimen tables)
Created January 11, 2017
License ODC-BY-1.0