Molecular and biometric data on Carabus (Macrothorax) morbillosus Fabricius, 1792 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from Mid Mediterranean areas

Abstract

The present study was carried out using molecular and biometric data of Carabus (Macrothorax) morbillosus from mid-Mediterranean areas to determine additional information on basal relationships among its representative subspecies. To this aim, two different kinds of approach were employed, including a morphometric analysis of four morphological parameters (i.e., elytra length, elytra width, pronotum length, pronotum width) of 128 specimens, and a Bayesian genetic analysis of 44 cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) partial sequences (i.e., 38 examined for the first time and six retrieved from GenBank database). Representative populations of C. (M.) morbillosus were sampled in four countries, namely Italy, Malta, Spain, and Tunisia. The present findings support the validity of four C. (M.) morbillosus subspecies, specifically C. (M.) m. alternans, C. (M.) m. bruttianus, C. (M.) m. constantinus, and C. (M.) m. macilentus, and redefine these subspecies’ distributions. Notably, within the C. (M.) m. constantinus clade, two (i.e., Sardinia/Tuscany and Lampedusa) out of the three subgroups appear as homogeneous geographical groupings.