CLADISTIC ANALYSIS AND HIGHER CLASSIFICATION OF COREOIDEA (HETEROPTERA)

Abstract  A cladistic analysis of tribes and subfamilies included in Coreidae, Rhopalidae and Alydidae of the superfamily Coreoidea, based on 60 apomorphies, has been made in the present paper. The results indicate that both the Pseudophloeinae and Hydarinae of Coreidae are monophyletic and occupy the two lowest positions in the cladogram in comparison with the other coreid groups; the tribe Chariesterini of Coreinae is a sister group with Meropachydinae; Serinethini (the only tribe of "Serinethinae", Rhopalidae) is a sister group with Harmostini of Rhopalinae in the rhopalid offset of the cladogram. These mean the traditional Coreidae, Coreinae, and Rhopalinae are paraphyletic groups. According to the results of the snalysis and their characteristics, the "Pseudophloeinae" and "Hydarinae" are raised to family category respectively, the tribe Chariesterini is raised to subfamily category in family Coreidae; the traditional Serinethinae is suppressed to tribe category (no subfamilial ranks will be set up in Rhopalidae), so that all the groups are natural and the paraphyletic groups are avoided in the superfamily, and no this basis a new higher classification system of Coreoidea is suggested.