Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® Mammoth Cave Research Symposia 10th Research Symposium 2013 Feb 14th, 2:50 PM The aC ve Beetle Neaphaenops tellkampfi rE ichson: Relationships Within and Among Related Genera Using Molecular Data T. Keith Philips Western Kentucky University Elise Valkanas St. Mary’s College Kurt Helf Cumberland Piedmont Network, National Park Service, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/mc_reserch_symp Part of the Animal Sciences Commons, Forest Sciences Commons, Geology Commons, Hydrology Commons, Other Earth Sciences Commons, and the Plant Sciences Commons Recommended Citation T. Keith Philips, Elise Valkanas, and Kurt Helf, "The aC ve Beetle Neaphaenops tellkampfi rE ichson: Relationships Within and Among Related Genera Using Molecular Data" (February 14, 2013). Mammoth Cave Research Symposia. Paper 9. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/mc_reserch_symp/10th_Research_Symposium_2013/Research_Posters/9 This is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mammoth Cave Research Symposia by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Cave Beetle Neaphaenops tellkampfi Erichson: Relationships Within and Among Related Genera Using Molecular Data 1 2 3 T. Keith Philips , Elise Valkanas , Kurt Helf 1 Biology Department,Western Kentucky University 2 St. Mary’s College 3 Cumberland Piedmont Network, National Park Service Abstract Studies of North American cave beetle systematics have been based primarily on morphology. This project analyzes the relationships and validity of the four subspecies of the monotypic Neaphaenops based on monophyly, as well as relationships with the remaining four eastern N.A. cave beetle genera (Pseudanophthalmus, Nelsonites, Darlingtonea, and Ameroduvalius) using molecular methods. This study utilized 39 beetle samples collected from 27 Kentucky caves and one outgroup accessed from GenBank. Evidence for phylogenetic hypotheses is based on sequences of one nuclear protein-coding gene (arginine kinase) and one mitochondrial gene (CO1). Analyses support Neaphaenops as sister to all other taxa. One subspecies of Neaphaenops is valid, a second possibly so, and the other two are not. All tested genera are monophyletic except for Pseudanophthalmus; Nelsonites appears to be a derived clade of Pseudanophthalmus. 40 Mammoth Cave National Park's 10th Research Symposium: Celebrating the Diversity of Research in the Mammoth Cave Region.