Morphological identification of Lucilia sericata, Lucilia cuprina and their hybrids (Diptera, Calliphoridae).

ABSTRACT: Hybrids of Lucilia sericata and Lucilia cuprina have been shown to exist in previous studies using molecular methods, but no study has shown explicitly that these hybrids can be identified morphologically. Published morphological characters used to identify L. sericata and L. cuprina were reviewed, and then scored and tested using specimens of both species and known hybrids. Ordination by multi-dimensional scaling indicated that the species were separable, and that hybrids resembled L. cuprina, whatever their origin. Discriminant function analysis of the characters successfully separated the specimens into three unambiguous groups - L. sericata, L. cuprina and hybrids. The hybrids were morphologically similar irrespective of whether they were from an ancient introgressed lineage or more mo

SUBMITTER: Williams KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4109482 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature