Sympatric convergence of the color pattern in the Chilean Ceroglossus ground beetles inferred from sequence comparisons of the mitochondrial ND5 gene.

The phylogenetic trees have been constructed using the mitochondrial ND5 gene sequences for 66 specimens of the Chilean Ceroglossus ground beetles collected from various localities of Chile. The trees show that the Ceroglossus specimens examined are composed of four phylogenetic lineages that have diverged 25-30 MYA. The results are consistent with the classification proposed by Jiroux (1996) based on morphology, in which Ceroglossus is divided into four species groups. Despite a remarkable color polymorphism revealed by these ground beetles, the color pattern is geographically linked and is not species-specific, suggesting that some ecological or environmental factors are involved in determining it.