| The European Alps support several ground beetle Nebria (Nebriola) species, which are morphologically similar. A study conducted on a Nebriola population located between the Eastern Pennine and Western Lepontine Italian Alps revealed the presence of two species, Nebria (Nebriola) cordicollis and N. (Nebriola) gosteliae, and some individuals that possibly represented an unknown taxonomic unit (UTU). Therefore, to further elucidate and characterise the morphological units at the site, we completed a comparative analysis using geometric morphometrics applying the semilandmarks approach. We examined the pronotum, the right elytron, and the median lobe of aedeagus. The quantitative analysis evaluated the overall variation in shape and size of the three... |
