Phylogenetic Significance of an Unusual African Stingless Bee, Meliponula bocandei (Spinola)
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| Autor: | |
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| Formato: | artículo original |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 1963 |
| Descripción: | The African stingless bee, Meliponula bocandei (Spinola), is studied in relation to the general phylogeny of the Meliponini. The major evolutionary trends among the stingless bees, namely the Trigona and Melipona lines, are discussed, and Meliponula bocandej is compared with them. The morphological analysis of thís species suggests an intermediate position for MeliPonula between Trigona and Melipona; its biology, however, is apparently similar to that of Trigona. Consideration of the possibly primitive and specialized characters among bees indicates that Meliponula is more specialized than Trigona but less so than Melipona. It is therefore deduced that MelíPonula bocandei represents another major phyletic stock, the Meliponula line. Although the three major lines are considered in this study as the typical genera of Meliponini, there is also some justification in regarding as genera certain specialized side branches of the Trigona line (Lestrimelitta, Dactylurina). Finally, a general discussion is given as to the possible ways these three major trends were differentiated, tracing their evolutionary history as far back in time as possible. |
| País: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Institución: | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:portal.ucr.ac.cr:article/31135 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/31135 |