In this review, we will do an historical detour focused on the plentiful attempts of giving a systematic classification to Chrysoperla carnea. The systematic puzzle of this genus saw numerous resolution attempts; from the beginning of '900, with the subdivision of the Chrysopidae family in roughly ten well-characterised and easily distinguishable genera; passing through the use of various chromatic and morphological characters which increased the systematic chaos; to this day, with the bioacustic research focused on the "carnea" group, carried out in the last 30 years by Charles S. Henry. Henry's research led his group to theorise the existence of a cryptic species complex, which sexual selection mechanism would strictly follow mating song affinity between partners, thus constituting the only barrier to hybridisation. In addition, genetic identification problems hinder the use of molecular barcoding using mitochondrial genes; thus, the conclusion is that, at the moment, the only way to identify species is through mating song analysis. As a final remark, we underline that a possible solution to this enigma could come from the new frontiers of genomics, as these could lead to a way to explore the deep molecular differences between the "carnea" cryptic species, potentially providing new, more precise identification methods
¿Existe realmente Chrysoperla carnea? Historia de la investigación sobre el complejo carnea
2014
Abstract
In this review, we will do an historical detour focused on the plentiful attempts of giving a systematic classification to Chrysoperla carnea. The systematic puzzle of this genus saw numerous resolution attempts; from the beginning of '900, with the subdivision of the Chrysopidae family in roughly ten well-characterised and easily distinguishable genera; passing through the use of various chromatic and morphological characters which increased the systematic chaos; to this day, with the bioacustic research focused on the "carnea" group, carried out in the last 30 years by Charles S. Henry. Henry's research led his group to theorise the existence of a cryptic species complex, which sexual selection mechanism would strictly follow mating song affinity between partners, thus constituting the only barrier to hybridisation. In addition, genetic identification problems hinder the use of molecular barcoding using mitochondrial genes; thus, the conclusion is that, at the moment, the only way to identify species is through mating song analysis. As a final remark, we underline that a possible solution to this enigma could come from the new frontiers of genomics, as these could lead to a way to explore the deep molecular differences between the "carnea" cryptic species, potentially providing new, more precise identification methodsI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
