Molecular Phylogeny for the Obolopteryx Katydids of the Southwestern United States (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae)

Abstract

Obolopteryx Cohn et al. 2014, formerly Dichopetala Rehn and Hebard 1914, is a newly erected genus of North American phaneropterine katydids. Here, we provide the first molecular phylogeny for the genus Obolopteryx and compare our results to previous morphological studies. We used two mitochondrial genes (COI and Cytb) to resolve relationships in the genus. Molecular results failed to find congruence with any of the previous morphological hypotheses, suggesting that the genitalia traits used for morphological inferences are not necessarily phylogenetically informative. Further, we found preliminary evidence that the recently erected genus Mactruchus may be nested within the established Obolopteryx.