S.R. Davis. 2017. The weevil rostrum (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea): internal structure and evolutionary...
Steven R. Davis. 2017.
The weevil rostrum (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea) : internal structure and evolutionary trends.
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 2017. Number 416, 76 pp., 50 figures, 2 tables.
Issued October 10, 2017
http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6746
https://doi.org/10.5531/sd.sp.27
ISSN 0003-0090
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The current classification of weevils has witnessed vast improvements at higher phylogenetic levels,
though much remains unstable at the lower levels. In order to develop a more robust morphological
character system for cladistic analysis of the higher lineages and to gain a comprehensive
understanding of the structure of a hallmark feature of weevils, a comparative study was conducted
of rostra throughout Curculionoidea. Semithin sections were made of the rostra of 36 exemplar
genera representing all seven currently recognized weevil families, as well as 19 of 21 subfamilies
within the largest family, Curculionidae, and internal structures were examined for phylogenetically
informative characters. While the morphological diversity of rostral forms is impressive, general
trends are apparent with respect to life-history traits and modes of feeding. Exploration of
internal rostral morphology has yielded valuable but previously unexplored characters that greatly
complement the external characters of this structure. Together, these features provide new insight
for settling current incongruence at the higher levels of classification.
