Thesis (doctoral)--Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden, 1998. / Acknowledgements and foreword inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-196).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2000. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 9, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Joseph E. Armstrong (chair), Roger Anderson, Angelo Capparella, Christopher Horvath, Diane Byers. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 223-234) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-03-23Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:49:59Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 mello_rjcl_me_sjrp.pdf: 1745790 bytes, checksum: 4f8869ac4344a59a55a50f50c230385d (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Esta dissertação encontra-se dividia em três capítulos. O primeiro, intitulado “A família Lauxaniidae e o gênero Physoclypeus Hendel”, é uma introdução geral a respeito da família e do gênero estudado. Fornece dados a respeito de biologia, número de gêneros e espécies, distribuição, caracteres diagnósticos, além de conter uma discussão a respeito da superfamília Lauxanioidea e da classificação supragenérica de Lauxaniidae, inclui também a revisão da literatura taxonômica sobre o gênero Physoclypeus. O capítulo dois, “Revisão das espécies de Physoclypeus Hendel, 1907 (Diptera, Lauxaniidae), com descrição de oito espécies novas”, apresenta uma redescrição das sete espécies atuais de Physoclypeus e a descrição de oito espécies novas para a ciência. Pela primeira vez é apresentada uma chave de identificação das espécies, incluindo as espécies novas. Em anexo, estão apresentadas Ilustrações dos principais caracteres diagnósticos de morfologia externa e de terminálias masculina e feminina, além de mapas com dados da distribuição geográfica das espécies de Physoclypeus. O capítulo três, “Análise cladística das espécies de Physoclypeus Hendel, 1907 (Diptera, Lauxaniidae)”, apresenta o resultado da análise cladística do gênero, realizada a partir do levantamento de 30 caracteres morfológicos dos adultos. Como resultados são apresentados o cladogrma de consenso estrito resultante da análise de parcimônia simples e o cladograma resultante da pesagem sucessiva dos caracteres. No final é feita uma discussão a respeito da utilização de outros tipos de caracteres em conjunto com os morfológicos em táxons que tiveram diferenciação relativamente mais recente, como é o caso dos gêneros de acaliptrados. O capítulo um apresenta uma introdução geral a respeito da família e do... / This dissertation consists of three chapters. The first, called “The Lauxaniidae family and the genus Physoclypeus Hendel”, is a general introduction to the family and to the genus studied. It contains some information about biology, number of species, distribution, diagnostic characters, beyond a discussion about the superfamily Lauxanioidea and the suprageneric classification on Lauxaniidae. It has also a revision of the taxonomic literature concerning Physoclypeus. The chapter two, “Revision of the species of Physoclypeus Hendel, 1907 (Diptera, Lauxaniidae), with descriptions of eight new species”, presents a redescription of the seven known Physoclypeus species and describes eight new species. A key to the identification of species is presented, including the new species. Also, it contains illustrations of the major diagnostic characters of external morphology and male and female genitalias, beyond maps presenting the geographic distribution of the species. The chapter three, “Cladistic analysis of Physoclypeus Hendel, 1907 (Diptera, Lauxaniidae)”, presented the results of a cladistic analysis of the genus, using thirty morphological characters from adults. As a result the strict consensus cladograms resulted from a simple parsimony analysis and from successive weighting, are proposed. At the end there is a brief discussion about using many other kinds of characters in association with morphological ones when regarding taxons that had differentiated in a recent time, as is the case for many acalyptrate genera. Chapter one presented a general introduction about the family and the genus and won’t be submitting to be published. Chapters two and three were writing in article format and will be submitted to be published at Zootaxa.

A tribo Megacephalini é composta por 17 gêneros e aproximadamente 240 espécies distribuídas nos continentes americano, africano e Oceania e tem como principal sinapomorfia a carena pronotal lateral projetando-se além da margem anterior do prosterno. Essa tribo já sofreu muitas modificações e atualmente, como resultado de análises filogenéticas baseadas em dados moleculares e dados morfológicos de larvas, teve sua monofilia questionada existência duvidada. Foi feito um estudo filogenético baseado principalmente em caracteres morfológicos de adultos para testar a monofilia do grupo, assim como investigar as relações entre os subgrupos que o forma. Para tal, 233 caracteres foram levantados, sendo 232 relacionados à morfologia externa e um sobre a biologia; alguns caracteres foram estudados pela primeira vez em uma filogenia de Carabidae, com destaque para o escutelo, que se mostrou bastante informativo para os agrupamentos das subtribos. Os quatro cladogramas igualmente mais parcimoniosos (960 passos) obtidos revelaram que a tribo é monofilética, sendo necessário apenas excluir uma espécie da hipótese inicial (Callidema boussingaultii) e incluir um ou dois gêneros (Mantica e Manticora), inicialmente considerados externos à tribo. Além da confirmação da existência do grupo, foi apresentada uma nova hipótese de classificação, onde a tribo Megacephalini é formada por 3 subtribos: Manticorina, Oxycheilina e Megacephalina; Manticorina grupo-irmão das outras duas subtribos, estas formando juntas um grupo natural / The tribe Megacephalini is composed of 17 genera and approximately 240 species spread throughout the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. The main synapomorphy of the group is the lateral pronotal ridge that extends beyond the anterior margin of the mesosternum. The classification of the tribe has undergone changes through the past few decades and recently, based on molecular characters and larval data, its validity has been questioned. A phylogenetic study based mainly on morphological data was done to test the monophyly of the group as well as to investigate the relations of its subgroups. For the analysis, 233 characters were used. From those, 232 related to the external morphology and one to the biology; some characters were used for the first time in a Carabidae phylogenetic study, such as the scutellum, which has proven to be very important for subtribes determination. The four most parsimonious trees (length = 960) show that the tribe is monophyletic, with the exclusion of one species (Callidema boussingaultii), and the addition of one or two genera (Mantica and Manticora), formerly not considered part of the tribe. In addition to the confirmation of the monophyly of the tribe, a new classification hypothesis is presented, in which the tribe is formed by three subtribes: Manticorina, Oxycheilina, and Megacephalina; Manticorina as sister group of the other two, and those together comprising a natural group

Uma análise cladística baseada em parcimônia é utilizada para testar o monofiletismo do gênero Odontopeltis e suas relações com outras espécies de gêneros anteriormente relacionados. A matriz de dados compreende 15 terminais e 47 caracteres. A análise cladística com pesagem implícita de caracteres de concavidade igual a 2,012 resultou em uma árvore mais parcimoniosa com 99 passos (IC = 58; IR = 73). As seguintes sinapomorfias sustentam o clado Odontopeltis e são propostas como diagnoses para o gênero: (1) Formato do órgão de Tömösvary sub-oval; (2) borda do ozóporo simples; (3) dobras retrolaterais no acropódito; e (4) presença de um par de macro-cerdas delimitando o fim da região pré-femoral e o início da região femoral, no gonopódio. Para padronização das descrições de genitália, foi analisada toda a terminologia do gonopódio dos machos da família Chelodesmidae. O gonopódio dos machos é, então, formado por peças cujas homologias às peças das pernas é incerta: coxa, cânula, região pré-femoral, processo pré-femoral, região femoral e solenômero. Para o gênero Odontopeltis é proposta uma terminologia da genitália à parte, devido às modificações no gonopódio. O gênero é composto por 13 espécies, sendo oito espécies válidas e cinco insertis sedis, sendo elas: Odontopeltis conspersus, O. anchisteus, O. clarazianus, O. giganteus, O. sp. nov. 1, O. sp. nov. 2, O. sp. nov. 3 e O. sp. nov. 4, e as espécies insertis sedis são: O. próxima, O. gracilipes, O. decoloratus, O. borellii e O. balzanii. A tribo Macrocoxodesmini se mostrou parafilética e, portanto, foi desmembrada. A tribo Telonychopodini se manteve monofilética e o gênero Odontopeltis de fato não pertence a esta tribo. / A cladistic analysis based on parsimony is used to test the monophyly of the genus Odontopeltis and its relationship with related genera. The data matrix comprises 15 terminal taxa and 47 characters. The implied weighted analysis, with concavity 2,012, resulted in a 99 steps most parsimonious tree (CI = 58; RI = 73). The following sinapomorphies supports the clade Odontopeltis and are proposed as diagnosis characters for the genus: (1) Tömösvary organ sub-oval shaped; (2) ozopores edge simple; (3) retrolateral rims on acropodite; and (4) presence of macrobristles delimiting the end of the prefemoral region and the beginning of the femoral region, on the gonopods. To standardize the genitalia description, the terminology for the gonopods of the family Chelodesmidae was reviewed. Then, the male gonopods are composed by: coxae, cannula, prefemoral region, prefemoral process, femoral region and solenomere. There is no attempt to relate the homology of legs pieces with gonopod pieces. It\'s proposed a terminology for the gonopods of the genus Odontopeltis due to the modifications on the gonopods. The genus comprises 13 species, where eight are valid species and five are insertis sedis: Odontopeltis conspersus, O. anchisteus, O. clarazianus, O. giganteus, O. sp. nov. 1, O. sp. nov. 2, O. sp. nov. 3 and O. sp. nov. 4, and the insertis sedis species are: O. proxima, O. gracilipes, O. decoloratus, O. borellii and O. balzanii. The Macrocoxodesmini tribe showed as a paraphyletic group and, therefore, was dissolved. The Telonychopodini tribe is monophyletic and the genus Odontopeltis, indeed, do not belong to this tribe.

D.Phil. / The genus Crotalaria (tribe Crotalarieae, Fabaceae) includes 700 species with its main centre of species diversity in Africa and Madagascar and secondary radiations to other parts of the world (including North and South America, India, South-East Asia and Australia). Molecular systematics has recently provided profound new insights into generic relationships in the Crotalarieae, thereby creating the opportunity to re-evaluate the taxonomic and functional significance of flower and fruit structure in the tribe, with emphasis on the large genus Crotalaria. A representative sample of flowers from 211 species was dissected to record morphological character states and fruit transverse sections of 142 species was cut to record anatomical variation across the tribe. These data were supplemented from the literature to allow for generalizations. Six structural-functional flower types were identified: (1) pump; (2) gullet; (3) hugging; (4) saddle; (5) tunnel; and (6) brush. The saddle and tunnel types are here described for the first time. Crotalaria is the only genus within the tribe that has the brush type; specialized flowers characterized by a rostrate keel, highly dimorphic anthers, stylar trichomes and four types of elaborate callosities on the standard petal: (1) ridge callosities – vertical swellings on the blade and claw; (2) disc callosities – subcircular swellings on the blade; (3) columnar callosities – cylindrical protruding appendages on the blade; and (4) lamelliform callosities – plate-like protruding appendages on the blade. Trends toward specialization are apparent across the phylogeny as a whole suite of specialized floral characters and are homoplastic as a result of convergence.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Two closely related families of Ordovician bryozoans, the Monticuliporidae and the Mesotrypidae, collectively contain 12 genera that have been reclassified repeatedly by various authors. Using published illustrations for the type specimens of each genus, character states for 267 morphological attributes were coded. Cladistic results were compared between the programs PAST and PAUP, and contrasted with phenetic methods. PAUP produced the shortest trees, with better summary index values and low homoplasy. Phenetic results varied, depending largely on the similarity measures used. Cladistic analysis produced five tree topologies, the most parsimonious of which consisted of a monophyletic crown group, representing Family Monticuliporidae, and a paraphyletic stem group that included the genera Mesotrypa and Diazipora. The crown group includes the genera Aspidopora, Atactoporella, Acantholaminatus, Peronopora, Homotrypella, Homotrypa, Gortanipora, Monticulipora, Prasopora, and Prasoporina. The paraphyletic stem group matches Astrova’s concept of Family Mesotrypidae. These results suggest the placement of all 12 genera in a single Family Monticuliporidae. Future studies that include data for additional closely related genera in might provide a clearer picture of familial assignments for these, and other, stenolaemate genera.

Patterns in the distribution of homoplasy are investigated from theoretical and empirical perspectives. The history of the term "homoplasy" as used by morphologists, evolutionary systematists, cladists, and others is reviewed, especially in relation to its complement, "homology." Homoplasy is defined relative to homology, which is viewed as any similarity shared through an unbroken line of common ancestry. An investigation of levels of homoplasy based on a statistical analysis of 60 published phylogenies reveals a strong dependence of homoplasy on the number of taxa included. This relation is independent of number of characters, type of data, taxonomic rank, or organism, and suggests that large taxa should be the focus of empirical studies of homoplasy. Hence, a phylogenetic analysis of the large genus Astragalus was undertaken using 113 representative species (and varieties) found in North America. Fifty-seven binary and multistate characters were scored and the resulting matrix was subjected to numerical cladistic analysis. Two large sets of equally parsimonious trees were found at 595 and 596 steps. The sets were analyzed using consensus methods, robust clades were discussed in detail, and the phylogenies were compared to previous classifications. Character evolution of a large set of taxonomically important and morphologically varied traits was investigated. Statistical tests were developed to detect patterns of topological clustering of homoplastic character changes in cladograms. The tests use Monte-Carlo computer simulations of four null models of character evolution in an attempt to reject the hypothesis of random homoplastic distributions. For the Astragalus data set only two of 17 characters were significantly clustered, and this is close to random expectation. Another data set from the literature was also tested, and in it no characters were clustered at the 5 percent level. The explanation for these negative findings regarding homoplastic "tendencies" is explored with respect to "scope", "scale", and character "resolution," factors believed to play an important role in the analysis of character evolution.

Axelrod (1958) suggested that the late Tertiary shift in regional climate -- the elimination of summer rains -- had a profound influence on the evolution of biotic provinces in the American southwest. In particular, the taxa endemic to biotic provinces characterized by summer drought, e.g., the Mojave Desert, should be derived from ancestors that likely inhabited regions of summer rain, e.g., the Chihuahuan Desert. Further, the derived features of summer-drought taxa should be related to water stress. I examined Axelrod's thesis, using a combination of phylogenetic systematics, physiological ecology, and vicariance biogeography. The first chapter is a cladistic study of the pinyon pines, 13 taxa of small trees that range from the summer-wet regions of Mexico to the summer drought regions of Nevada and California. A parsimony analysis using twenty morphological characters showed that the most recently derived pinyons are from regions of summer drought. The "summer-drought" taxa are characterized by relatively few needles per fascicle. Because fewer needles per fascicle results in a reduction in the needle surface-to-volume ratio, Haller (1965) hypothesized that fewer needles in pines is an adaptation to reduce transpirational water loss. The second chapter reports on a two year study of the xylem pressure potentials of single- and double-needled fascicles of hybrid pinyons in central Arizona. The results showed no significant differences between single- and double-needles. I concluded that either needle morphology does not effect water relations, or that the relatively high precipitation during the study did not allow significant water stress to occur. The third chapter uses the methods of vicariance biogeography to search for a common pattern of relationship between southwestern biotic provinces, as indicated by the relationships of their endemic taxa. Using a biogeographic parsimony analysis, I compared the area cladograms of six taxa -- junipers, pinyon pines, the composite Palafoxia, hedgehog cactus, desert tortoises, and gecko lizards. The most parsimonious area cladogram supports Axelrod's (1958) hypothesis, but also shows that some taxa, notably the junipers, support other patterns of area relationships, e.g., summer-drought primitive. I suggest that there is no single pattern of area relationships because of the effects of the Pleistocene (including dispersal and extinction) and vicariance events other than the Tertiary climatic change, e.g., the separation of the Baja peninsula from mainland Mexico during the Miocene.