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Phasmatodea (Arthropoda, Insecta) in Brazil: Status, New Record, and Proposal for Using Molecular Tools to Assist in Species Identification

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Abstract

Phasmatodea (Arthropoda, Insecta) comprises phytophagous insects, popularly known as stick bugs because most of them resemble dry branches. Currently, more than 3000 species are known, the majority of which can be found in tropical regions of the world. In Brazil, it is estimated that there are approximately 200 species, but these numbers may not truly reflect the group’s richness. A high degree of intraspecific polymorphism, a low number of specimens sampled, a shortage of specialized literature, and having only a small number of experts have amplified the difficulties in studying this order. Therefore, this study aims to present a historical survey of the Phasmatodea studies that have been conducted in Brazil thus far, indicating gaps in knowledge and discussing perspectives to expand understanding within this group. Furthermore, to the best our knowledge, the molecular characterization of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene of mitochondrial DNA of two species of phasmids found in Brazil, Cladomorphus phyllinus Gray, 1835, and Pseudophasma missionum Piza, 1981, is presented for the first time. In addition, this study records for the first time the occurrence of P. missionum in Brazilian territory.

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Acknowledgments

Access register at Sistema Nacional de Gestão do Patrimônio Genético e do Conhecimento Tradicional Associado (SisGen) - #AA900E3 and #A0F2344. All collections were authorized by the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment (MMA), through the Biodiversity Authorization and Information System (SISBIO), processes numbers 12123. We thank Dr.(s). Sinval Silveira Neto, Roberto A. Zucchi, and Celso Omoto for facilitating the studies at the Entomological Collection of ESALQ allowing the comparisons with the holotypes, Oskar Conle for confirming the identification of P. missionum, and Lucas Torres for the technical procedures for depositing the specimens at the Entomological Collection of Fiocruz. The authors are grateful to anonymous reviewers for all suggestions of this manuscript.

Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001 to the first author (TMO). Financial support was also provided by the Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), JC is Research Productivity Granted - PQ-2 (303363/2017-7).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lab of Integrative Entomology, Dept of Animal Biology, IB, Univ of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo State, Brasil

    T Madeira-Ott & P J Thyssen

  2. Lab of Entomological Biodiversity, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro State, Brasil

    J Costa

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  1. T Madeira-Ott
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Correspondence to P J Thyssen.

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Madeira-Ott, T., Thyssen, P.J. & Costa, J. Phasmatodea (Arthropoda, Insecta) in Brazil: Status, New Record, and Proposal for Using Molecular Tools to Assist in Species Identification. Neotrop Entomol 49, 916–922 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-020-00798-3

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