Cytotaxonomy of the genus Dichromatos Cigliano 2007 (Orthoptera, Acridoidea, Melanoplinae).

Abstract

All four species of the genus Dichromatos now cytologically analyzed, including D. montanus and D. comp (Cigliano 2007), studied in the present paper, are 2n = 21([male])/22([female]) (FN = 23/24) with a X1X2Y [male] / X1X1X2X2 [female] sex-determination mechanism. The possibility that this mechanism arose from a single ancestral species from which a rapid process of speciation and dispersion took place is discussed.