Phylogenetic Reconstruction and Genetic Divergence of Catantopinae (Acrididae) from Western Himalaya using Mitochondrial Markers

The subfamily Catantopinae (Orthoptera: Acrididae) comprise a diverse group of short-horned grasshopper with significant ecological and agricultural importance.Despite their wide distribution and economic relevance, molecular phylogenetic studies on this group, particularly from the Western Himalaya region remain scare.In this study mtDNA (COI) gene were used to examine the molecular diversity and phylogenetic relationship among selected Catantopinae species collected from lower Western Himalaya of Himachal Pradesh, India.The nucleotide composition revealed a strong AT composition 64.2%.Interaspecific divergence among species such as Diabolocatantops innotabilis, Stenocatantops splendens, and Xenocatantops humilis was found to be low (0.0 % -0.05%), indicating genetic homogeneity across geographic regions.Interspecific divergences ranged from 1.0% to 9.0%, confirming clear genetic boundaries among congeneric taxa.Phylogenetic reconstruction using the Maximum Likelihood Method revealed three well-supported clades corresponding to genera Diabolocatantops, Stenocatantops and Xenocatantops with Eucoptacra exigua used as an outgroup.