Taxonomia integrativa de Psaironeura Williamson, 1915 (Odonata: Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae): uma abordagem morfológica, molecular e filogenética

Abstract

Psaironeura Williamson, 1915 is a genus of damselflies within the family Coenagrionidae, distributed across the Neotropical region. Its species are characterized by a significant reduction in wing veins, small size, and a fragile flight limited to short distances. They exhibit high morphological variation, making the delimitation of 40 their species challenging. Within the taxonomy of the genus, two groups have been informally recognized throughout its distribution, which show differences in the morphology of the cerci and coloration patterns. On the other hand, the phylogenetic relationships of Psaironeura are poorly supported, suggesting that it may represent a non-natural group. Based on this context, the objective of this thesis is to carry out a taxonomic revision of Psaironeura through an integrative approach, using morphological and molecular data as the main lines of evidence. The thesis is divided into four chapters. In Chapter 1, a new species of the genus is described, including a detailed evaluation of the morphology of the genital ligula, providing further arguments for its taxonomic importance in identifying the new taxon and closely related species. Chapter 2 formally describes the first larva of the tenuissima species group. Chapter 3 assesses the species boundaries within the tenuissima group (sensu Garrison 2004) using an integrative approach that combines molecular and morphological data. 50 Finally, Chapter 4 evaluates the monophyly of Psaironeura using morphological and molecular data while performing a taxonomic review of its species. The results of this thesis represent an advance in the understanding of Psaironeura, revealing cryptic diversity, describing a new species and larva, and redefining the genus based 53 on morphological and molecular data. Monophyly was rejected, leading to the proposal of a new genus for Amazonian species. The integrative approach strengthens systematic and taxonomic studies in Neotropical Odonata.