A chromosomal investigation of four species of chinese panorpidae (Insecta, Mecoptera)

Abstract

The male adults of four species of the Chinese Panorpidae in Mecoptera were cytogenetically studied using conventional squashing procedures. The results show that their sex-chromosome system belongs to the XO type, with n = 19 + X(O) in Panorpa emarginata Cheng,1949 and Panorpa dubia Chou & Wang, 1981, n = 23 + X(O) in Panorpa sp., and n = 20 + X(O)in Neopanorpa lui Chou & Ran, 1981. X chromosomes of these species usually appear dot-shaped in late prophase I and are easily differentiated from autosomal bivalents. Meiosis inthese Panorpidae lacks typical diplotene and diakinesis. In late prophase I, pairs of homologous chromosomes remain parallel in a line and show no evidence of crossing-over. Someof them even appear as a single unit because of extremely intimate association, all with a tendency of increasing condensation. The evolutionary significance of their chromosomaldifferences and the achiasmatic meiosis of Panorpidae are briefly discussed. © Bo Xu et al.