| Abstract |
Ten synapomorphies are demonstrated to separate the closed thelyca Penaeus subgenera (Farfantepenaeus, Fenneropenaeus, Marsupenaeus, Melicertus, and Penaeus s.s.) from the open thelycum subgenus Litopenaeus. The phylogenetic position of Litopenaeus was investigated within the context of the tribe Penaeae (genera Funchalia, Heteropenaeus, Pelagopenaeus, and Penaeus; Burkenroad 1936). A cladistic analysis using general genital characters positioned Litopenaeus basal within the tribe; cladistic analysis based upon genital and key somatic characters allowed several hypotheses of relationships to be developed. The first of these hypotheses, one compatible with the current classification, juxtaposed Litopenaeus and the closed thelyca Penaeus subgenera as sister taxa, proposing that the stem Litopenaeus species underwent reversals to ancestral character states (atavisms). The other hypotheses were congruent with the hypotheses based upon genital characters. |
Sternberg, R. von (ms) Phylogenetic and systematic position of the Penaeus subgenus Litopenaeus (Decapoda: Penaeidae). unpublished (on web). 