This purchase only includes chapter 22 of this title.
Abstract
Weevils in the tribe Amorphocerini have been implicated in pollination of Encephalartos species in southern Africa. The bene�ts they provide these plants and the unique attributes of the cycad–weevil interaction make them important from both conservation and evolutionary standpoints. Oberprieler, using morphological characters, proposed a tentative hypothesis of relationships among the Amorphocerini, but it is useful to estimate their phylogeny from molecular markers as well. Preliminary results from work in progress are presented comprising DNA sequence data from one mitochondrial and one nuclear gene. The results are reasonably consistent with the morphological hypothesis of relationships and species concepts, though important differences are observed in the placement of the more generalist species Amorphocerus talpa Schoenherr as a recent divergence and a more narrow delineation of a Porthetes hispidus Boheman group, which is indicated to have experienced recent divergences.This chapter represents the initial step of a more comprehensive study to (1) estimate relationships and the direction of evolution among species of Amorphocerus and Porthetes, (2) test the hypotheses that Porthetes species are host restricted and that speciation has been host plant mediated, (3) examine the extent of cophylogeny between the weevils and their hosts, and (4) estimate levels and patterns of genetic variation within species of Amorphocerini.
