THE MORPHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS AND MOLECULAR-GENETIC ANALYSIS OF ORYCTES NASICORNIS (LINNAEUS, 1758) DISTRIBUTED IN THE LOW HILLS OF KARAKALPAKSTAN

This article presents an analysis of the morphometric characteristics and molecular-genetic results of Oryctes nasicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) distributed in the low hills of Karakalpakstan. Significant differences in the morphological structure between male and female representatives of Oryctes nasicornis were clearly identified. Although morphological identification remains one of the most widely used and generally accepted methods, it may lead to misidentifications due to intraspecific morphological variations. No nucleotide differences were observed within Oryctes nasicornis. However, molecular-genetic analysis revealed a 15.6% nucleotide divergence between Oryctes nasicornis and Oryctes rhinoceros based on sequences obtained from the GenBank database.