Misidentification of two Brazilian triatomes, <i>Triatoma arthurneivai</i> and <i>Triatoma wygodzinskyi</i> , revealed by geometric morphometrics

Abstract

Triatoma arthurneivai Lent & Martins and Triatoma wygodzinskyi Lent (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) are two Brazilian species found in the sylvatic environment. Several authors may have misidentified T. arthurneivai and consequently published erroneous information. This work reports the use of geometric morphometric analysis on wings in order to differentiate T. arthurneivai and T. wygodzinskyi, and thus to detect possible misidentifications. Triatomines collected from the field in the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo, and from laboratory colonies, were used. Analyses show a clear differentiation between specimens of T. arthurneivai and T. wygodzinskyi. This indicates that T. arthurneivai populations from São Paulo state were misidentified and should be considered as T. wygodzinskyi. This study also suggests that T. arthurneivai is an endemic species from Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais state.