Patterns of morphological diversification in giant Berberomeloe blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) reveal an unexpected taxonomic diversity concordant with mtDNA phylogenetic structure.

Delimiting species boundaries is a complex challenge usually hindered by overlooked morphological diversification or misinterpretation of geographically structured phenotypic variability. Independent molecular data are extremely useful to characterize and understand such morphological diversity. Morphological and molecular variability of the non-phoretic and apterous, widely distributed, giant blister beetles of the genus Berberomeloe , were investigated within and between lineages across most of the distributional range of the genus. We used two mtDNA gene fragments to characterize genetic variability and to produce a time-calibrated phylogeny of the genus. Our results reveal several mitochondrial lineages, allopatrically, parapatrically and sympatrically distributed. Most clades are not distinguishable between each other based on morphometrics. However, no morphometric overlap is observed between two closely related clades, one of them occurring in sympatry with a distantly congeneric species (B. insignis), suggesting that sympatry could trigger morphological diversification. Although most species share a morphometric space, they can be morphologically identified by a combination of easily observed characteristic qualitative features. Based on the concordance between mtDNA clades and morphological units, we describe six new species of Berberomeloe (B. castuo sp. nov. B. comunero sp. nov. B. indalo sp. nov, B. yebli sp. nov. B. payoyo sp. nov. and B. tenebrosus sp. nov.), revalidate two taxa (B. maculifrons comb. nov. and B. laevigatus comb. nov.) and redefine B. majalis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]