Phylogeny of West African Caryedon (coleoptera: bruchidae): congruence between molecular and morphological data.

Seed beetles belonging to the Old World genus Caryedon feed in the seeds of various Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoideae, and Combretaceae. In an attempt to resolve broad phylogenetic relationships within the genus, we obtained 332 base pair sequences of mitochondrial 12S ribosomal DNA and morphological data for the 16 West African Caryedon species. Morphological characters were analyzed under maximum parsimony and sequences were compared under maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and neighbor joining. Using a partition homogeneity test, we determined that morphological and molecular data sets were combinable. Combined data were analyzed under maximum parsimony. Morphological and molecular trees were congruent at the species group level and total evidence analyses yielded the same topologies as molecular data with each of the three outgroups used. Four main terminal clades are recognized, each corresponding with a group of species generally feeding on the same host plant family, subfamily, genus, or species. The monophyly of legume feeding Caryedon is supported by both data sets, and Combretaceae feeders split in two monophyletic assemblages.