Rapid chromosomal evolution in a morphologically cryptic radiation

- Apiomorpha minor, a gall-inducing scale insect, is a cryptic species complex of at least nine species.
- The species complex exhibits extraordinary chromosomal diversity, with 2n = 6 to 84.
- Karyoptypic differences among clades are consistent with an active role for chromosomal change in speciation.
- Host specificity and allopatry might also be involved in speciation.

Cryptic species occur within most of the major taxonomic divisions, and a current challenge is to determine why some lineages have more cryptic species than others. It is expected that cryptic species are more common in groups where there are life histories or genetic architectures that promote speciation in the absence of apparent morphological differentiation. Chromosomal rearrangements have the potential to lead to post-zygotic isolation and might be an important factor leading to cryptic species. Here we investigate the potential role of chromosomal change in driving speciation in the karyotypically diverse scale insect genus Apiomorpha, focussing on four species placed in the same species group (the A. minor species group Gullan, 1984). Using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data, we find that Apiomorpha minor is not monophyletic and consists of at least nine cryptic species. Diploid chromosome counts range from 2n = 4 to 2n = 84 across the four currently recognized species, and some of the chromosomal variation exists in the absence of other genetic or host use differences, consistent with karyotypic changes being involved in lineage divergence and the generation of cryptic species.