Taxonomic revision of Melanocyphus Jekel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) |
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| Authors: | Joachim Adis Marcos Lhano Martin Hill Wolfgang Junk Marinêz Isaac Marques Hardi Oberholzer |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Tropical Ecology Working Group Max-Planck-Institute for Limnology Ploen Germany;2. Facultad de Ciencias (Entomología) Universidad de la República Montevideo Uruguay;3. Department of Zoology and Entomology Rhodes University Grahamstown South Africa;4. Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso Cuiabá Brazil;5. Weeds Research Division Plant Protection Research Institute Pretoria South Africa |
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| Abstract: | Cornops aquaticum (Bruner) is host specific on Eichhornia spp. and Pontederia spp. (Pontederiacae). Its present distribution ranges from Mexico to Argentina. The number of juvenile instars (5-7) apparently mirrors the photoperiod and temperature pulses of different climatical conditions in the respective geographical regions. Based on life-history data, three working hypotheses are proposed for forthcoming studies. These will test whether the varying number of juvenile instars represents a phenotypic plasticity of a single genotype or an adaptation that is genetically fixed, due to an evolutionary relationship of the host with its host-plant. |
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| Keywords: | sunshine insolation distribution macrophytes Cornops Eichhornia Pontederiaceae South America |
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