Systematics and Phylogeny of the Short-horned Grasshoppers and Locusts (Orthoptera: Acrididae) of Malaysian Borneo

Farah Nabillah, Abu Hasan Aidil Fitri (2022) Systematics and Phylogeny of the Short-horned Grasshoppers and Locusts (Orthoptera: Acrididae) of Malaysian Borneo. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

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Abstract

Family Acrididae encompassed of the short-horned grasshoppers and locusts belonging to the suborder Caelifera with over 28 subfamilies, 1,400 genera and 6,700 valid species described, distributed across the world. However, knowledge on the phylogeny and systematics of the family were still lacking in the Bornean region, although other documentations relation to their composition, diversity and ecology have been reported. Most studies on phylogeny and systematics of Acrididae were centralised on the Western world. Plus, the relationship between members of the family had always been ambiguous as family Acrididae were used as the taxonomic dumping group for aberrant species, thus leading to conflicting taxonomic theories by different researchers. Thus, the goal of this study is to describe the species within family Acrididae in Malaysian Borneo, record their distributions and build taxonomic keys for the family represented by the eastern region of Malaysia. Next, this study aims to construct the phylogeny within subfamilies of Acrididae from Malaysian Borneo by using morphological data. The systematics study was based on an examination of voucher specimens from several different institutions in Malaysian Borneo, as well as new collections. A total of 1,216 acridoid specimens represented by 28 species of 20 genera from five subfamilies were successfully examined, with no new species recorded. Phylogenetic analysis using neighbour-joining and maximum parsimony consisting of 100 morphological characters coded based on 28 ingroups and two outgroups (Pyrgomorphidae) were performed using Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony (*and Other Methods) (PAUP*) and Tree Analysis Using New Technology (TNT) software. The result deduced a monophyletic Acrididae when rooted with the sister group, Pyrgomorphidae, although paraphyly were rampant throughout subfamily Acridinae, Catantopinae, Cyrtacanthacridinae, and Oedipodinae, while Oxyinae was deduced to be monophyletic on the basal position of the clade. Additionally, systematics revision based on 28 species of 20 genera were presented. Dichotomous key to the subfamilies of Acrididae based on comparative morphology study, as well as habitus-coloured photographs and geological distribution maps for all species documented in Malaysian Borneo were provided. The outcomes of this study were hoped to benefit in providing baseline data for taxon sampling in future studies, adding new insights on the phylogenetic relationships between subfamilies of Acrididae based on sampled taxa in Malaysian Bornean region, as well as revising the documentation of the family recorded from Sabah and Sarawak while contributing worthwhile knowledge to the studies of Acrididae worldwide.

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