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Insect morphology in the age of phylogenomics: innovative techniques and its future role in systematics
Author(s) -
Friedrich Frank,
Matsumura Yoko,
Pohl Hans,
Bai Ming,
Hörnschemeyer Thomas,
Beutel Rolf G.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
entomological science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1479-8298
pISSN - 1343-8786
DOI - 10.1111/ens.12053
Subject(s) - biology , phylogenomics , scanning electron microscope , systematics , morphology (biology) , microscopy , evolutionary biology , zoology , materials science , phylogenetics , optics , taxonomy (biology) , clade , biochemistry , physics , gene , composite material
A brief account of the history of insect morphology is given. Different techniques and analytical methods used in current projects on insect morphology and phylogeny and their optimized combined application are described. These include fixation, dissection, maceration, histology (microtome sectioning), scanning electron microscopy ( SEM ), transmission electron microscopy ( TEM ), serial block‐face scanning electron microscopy ( SBFSEM ), focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy ( FIB / SEM ), confocal laser scanning microscopy ( CLSM ), bleaching, micro‐computed tomography (μ CT ), computer‐based three‐dimensional reconstruction, focus stacking of digital images, geometric morphometrics and the storage of morphological metadata. The role of insect morphology in the “age of phylogenomics” is discussed.