Vol. 60, 2021

(update: 2021.02.02; 04.06)
 

The Head of Fannia pusio (Fanniidae: Diptera) as A Novel Source of Morphometric Data for Assessing of Variation Along Geographic and Biological Lines

Yolanda Bravo-Pena^1,*, José Herrera-Russert^1,2, Elena Romera¹, and José Galián^1,3

¹Department of Zoology and Physical Anthropology, University of Murcia, Campus Mare Nostrum, 30100, Murcia, Spain. *Correspondence: E-mail: yolanda.bravo@um.es (Bravo-Pena)
E-mail: eromera@um.es (Romera)
²Department of Insect Biotechnology, Institute of Insect Biotechnology. Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-3,35392, Gießen, Germany. E-mail: jose.herrera-russert@agrar.uni-giessen.de (Herrera-Russert)
³Arthropotech SL, Arthropod Biotechnology, Nave Apícola, Granja Veterinaria UMU, Avenida de la Libertad, s/n, Guadalupe, 30071, Murcia, Spain. E-mail: jgalian@um.es (Galián)

Received 24 October 2020 / Accepted 14 January 2021
Communicated by Jen-Pan Huang

Fannia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 is the most diverse genus in the family Fanniidae (Diptera), with 288 species, many of which are include many of sanitary, economic and legal interest. The morphological homogeneity within the genus often makes species determination difficult. The best option for correct identification is to combine molecular and morphological analyses. The variation in the shape of a selection of body characters can be assessed by Geometric Morphometrics using the head as an innovative structure. Sex must be accounted for as a key covariate in this kind of study, since Fannia, as many other Diptera, has a sexually dimorphic head structure, with holoptic males and dicoptic females. Firstly, we analysed a set of Fannia sp. specimens sampled across the Iberian Peninsula (2012–2015), of which Fannia pusio (Wiedemann, 1830) was found to be the most abundant species. Our analyses provide significant morphological information. Fannia pusio exhibits clear intraspecific morphometric variation along an Iberian-wide East-West axis. A similar pattern emerged when comparing a laboratory-bred colony and wild samples.

Key words: Biological Variability, Geographical Variability, Geometric Morphometrics, Head landmarks, Iberian Peninsula.

Citation: Bravo-Pena Y, Herrera-Russert J, Romera E, Galián J. 2021. The head of Fannia pusio (Fanniidae: Diptera) as a novel source of morphometric data for the assessment of variation along geographic and biological lines. Zool Stud 60:16. doi:10.6620/ZS.2021.60-16.