2023/10/11 by Marilena Marconi, Daniel Ushiñahua Ramírez, Daniel Ramirez +7 · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Insect and Pesticide Research #Plant and animal studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.3897/jhr.96.105311
openalex publication_date 2023/10/11 · openalex created_date 2023/10/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Meliponini) are a large and diverse group including 59 extant groups, representing the main pollinators of Amazon forests. Among those, Trigona is one of the largest endemic genera of Neotropical Meliponini. In this work, we updated the molecular phylogeny of Trigona proposed by Rasmussen and Camargo (2008), including data from 59 new specimens collected in 2020 in the forests of northern Peru, through a multigene phylogenetic approach combining sequences from four gene fragments (16S, ArgK, EF-1a, opsin). Our results confirmed the monophyly of Trigona and of all proposed subgenera, except Aphaneura . In addition, most Trigona species-groups resulted monophyletic but the ‘ spinipes ’ and ‘ pallens ’ groups appeared paraphyletic and polyphyletic, respectively. Moreover, the cohesion of the “ fulviventris ” species group was hindered by the inclusion of T. williana (previously included in the “ pallens ” group) within this clade. Finally, we provided further evidence for a subdivision into two (geographically) distinct clades within T. guianae in northern Peruvian Amazon, which highlighted the importance of Neotropical biogeographical barriers in Meliponini divergence and evolution. Finally, to avoid misidentifications of Trigona specimens, the need for a robust taxonomic revision based on a cladistic approach of the whole genus is discussed.