Sexual Dimorphism in the Anatolian Endemic Tiger Beetle, Cephalota Circumdata ssp. Cappadocica Franzen, 1996 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae): A Study Showing The Effectiveness of Geometric Morphometrics

Abstract

Sexual dimorphism is an important source of intraspecies variation in tiger beetles. However, little is known about sexual dimorphism in tiger beetles. This article contributes the literature in the field of sexual dimorphism by comparing the morphology of males and females in the context of phenotypic changes in the head and pronotum of endemic tiger beetle Cephalota circumdata ssp. cappadocica Franzen, 1996 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae). All the specimens examined in the study were gathered during May and August of 2016 from salty soils around Seyfe Lake located in Kirsehir Province, Turkey. Specifically, the efficacy of geometric morphometrics was assessed in the analysis of sexual dimorphism of tiger beetles. Statistically significant differences were found in the head and pronotum shape variation and regression results indicated that size has little influence on the differentiation of shape among sexes. Moreover, the jackknifed cross-validated correct classification percentages for head and pronotum were 88% and 85%, respectively when using only the shape variables. Consequently, geometric morphometrics is an effective and useful method to determine sexual dimorphism in tiger beetles.