When Shape Defines: Geometric Morphometrics Applied to the Taxonomic Identification of Leaf-Footed Bugs of the Genus Acanthocephala (Hemiptera: Coreidae)

The study of qualitative morphological variation is essential for taxonomists and professionals involved in the identification and diagnosis of species of agricultural importance. This becomes particularly critical when quarantine decisions depend on the accurate identification of species belonging to highly diverse genera, poorly reviewed taxonomic groups, or sets of morphologically similar species that lack comprehensive identification keys. Geometric morphometrics has proven to be a powerful tool for resolving taxonomic uncertainties and distinguishing economically significant pest insects, even in the absence of formal taxonomic keys. In this study, we applied geometric morphometrics to analyze pronotum shape variation across 11 species of the genus Acanthocephala, representing nearly half of the currently recognized diversity in the genus, including several species of quarantine relevance to the United States. Our results indicate that principal component analysis accounted for 67% of the total shape variation and identified shape patterns that are useful for distinguishing between several species. Discriminate analysis further supported the differentiation among species, with significant differences confirmed through Mahalanobis distances. Although some species exhibited morphological overlaps, particularly among closely related taxa, most comparisons yielded statistically significant results. These findings demonstrate that the shape of the pronotum is a reliable and informative characteristic for species delimitation within the Acanthocephala group. We propose the use of geometric morphometrics as a reproducible, cost-effective, and robust method for species-level identification in taxonomically complex groups, which has valuable applications in quarantine inspection, pest monitoring, and agricultural biosecurity.