Weevil higher classification
Cryptorhynchine weevil from Panama.
With more than 40,000 species, the weevil family Curculionidae is the largest of all animal families.
Due to its size, there is no consensus on the composition of major groups within it leading to confusion globally on how to identify weevils, and recognise higher taxa.
Current research aims to clarify the composition of two of the largest of the weevil subfamilies:
- Molytinae
- Cryptorhynchinae.
A thorough morphological analysis has led to these subfamilies being synonymised, and several tribes within each being combined. The analysis also suggests at least two radiations in the Neotropics, and suggests a totally new way of arranging the beetles in a classification.