Across Lydekker's Line - first report of mite harvestmen (Opiliones : Cyphophthalmi : Stylocellidae) from New Guinea

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald M. Clouse ◽  
Gonzalo Giribet

Opiliones (harvestmen) in the suborder Cyphophthalmi are not known to disperse across oceans and each family in the suborder is restricted to a clear biogeographic region. While undertaking a revisionary study of the South-east Asian family Stylocellidae, two collections of stylocellids from New Guinea were noted. This was a surprising find, since the island appears never to have had a land connection with Eurasia, where the rest of the family members are found. Here, 21 New Guinean specimens collected from the westernmost end of the island (Manokwari Province, Indonesia) are described and their relationships to other cyphophthalmids are analysed using molecular sequence data. The specimens represent three species, Stylocellus lydekkeri, sp. nov., S. novaguinea, sp. nov. and undescribed females of a probable third species, which are described and illustrated using scanning electron microscope and stereomicroscope photographs. Stylocellus novaguinea, sp. nov. is described from a single male and it was collected with a juvenile and the three females of the apparent third species. Molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that the new species are indeed in the family Stylocellidae and they therefore reached western New Guinea by dispersing through Lydekker’s line – the easternmost limit of poor dispersers from Eurasia. The New Guinean species may indicate at least two episodes of oceanic dispersal by Cyphophthalmi, a phenomenon here described for the first time. Alternatively, the presence in New Guinea of poor dispersers from Eurasia may suggest novel hypotheses about the history of the island.

Mammalia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam W. Ferguson ◽  
Houssein R. Roble ◽  
Molly M. McDonough

AbstractThe molecular phylogeny of extant genets (Carnivora, Viverridae,Genetta) was generated using all species with the exception of the Ethiopian genetGenetta abyssinica. Herein, we provide the first molecular phylogenetic assessment ofG. abyssinicausing molecular sequence data from multiple mitochondrial genes generated from a recent record of this species from the Forêt du Day (the Day Forest) in Djibouti. This record represents the first verified museum specimen ofG. abyssinicacollected in over 60 years and the first specimen with a specific locality for the country of Djibouti. Multiple phylogenetic analyses revealed conflicting results as to the exact relationship ofG. abyssinicato otherGenettaspecies, providing statistical support for a sister relationship to all other extant genets for only a subset of mitochondrial analyses. Despite the inclusion of this species for the first time, phylogenetic relationships amongGenettaspecies remain unclear, with limited nodal support for many species. In addition to providing an alternative hypothesis of the phylogenetic relationships among extant genets, this recent record provides the first complete skeleton of this species to our knowledge and helps to shed light on the distribution and habitat use of this understudied African small carnivore.


2019 ◽  
Vol 190 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anny C Forero Mejia ◽  
Tina Molodtsova ◽  
Carina Östman ◽  
Giorgio Bavestrello ◽  
Greg W Rouse

Abstract We present an integrative study with molecular phylogenetic reconstructions and morphological assessment across the three Ceriantharia families: Arachnactidae, Botrucnidiferidae and Cerianthidae. The Arachnactidae specimens (Isarachnanthus spp.) form a well-supported clade, whereas Cerianthidae and Botrucnidiferidae are not recovered as monophyletic. Consequently, the validity of the suborder Spirularia is questioned. Cerianthus was recovered as polyphyletic and Ceriantheomorphe may prove to be a junior synonym of Cerianthus. The taxonomic position of Cerianthus cf. mortenseni is also discussed. All specimens identified on morphology as belonging to Pachycerianthus are recovered as a clade. Further revision of taxa within Ceriantharia is necessary. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on six mitochondrial or nuclear loci place Ceriantharia as sister to Hexacorallia s.s., but with no significant support relative to an alternative hypothesis that it is the sister taxon to Octocorallia. Further molecular sequence data and taxon sampling will be needed to resolve the position of Ceriantharia.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 176 (1) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
ASHA J. DISSANAYAKE ◽  
RUVISHIKA S. JAYAWARDENA ◽  
SARANYAPHAT BOONMEE ◽  
KASUN M. THAMBUGALA ◽  
QING TIAN ◽  
...  

The family Myriangiaceae is relatively poorly known amongst the Dothideomycetes and includes genera which are saprobic, epiphytic and parasitic on the bark, leaves and branches of various plants. The family has not undergone any recent revision, however, molecular data has shown it to be a well-resolved family closely linked to Elsinoaceae in Myriangiales. Both morphological and molecular characters indicate that Elsinoaceae differs from Myriangiaceae. In Elsinoaceae, small numbers of asci form in locules in light coloured pseudostromata, which form typical scab-like blemishes on leaf or fruit surfaces. The coelomycetous, “Sphaceloma”-like asexual state of Elsinoaceae, form more frequently than the sexual state; conidiogenesis is phialidic and conidia are 1-celled and hyaline. In Myriangiaceae, locules with single asci are scattered in a superficial, coriaceous to sub-carbonaceous, black ascostromata and do not form scab-like blemishes. No asexual state is known. In this study, we revisit the family Myriangiaceae, and accept ten genera, providing descriptions and discussion on the generic types of Anhellia, Ascostratum, Butleria, Dictyocyclus, Diplotheca, Eurytheca, Hemimyriangium, Micularia, Myriangium and Zukaliopsis. The genera of Myriangiaceae are compared and contrasted. Myriangium duriaei is the type species of the family, while Diplotheca is similar and may possibly be congeneric. The placement of Anhellia in Myriangiaceae is supported by morphological and molecular data. Because of similarities with Myriangium, Ascostratum (A. insigne), Butleria (B. inaghatahani), Dictyocyclus (D. hydrangea), Eurytheca (E. trinitensis), Hemimyriangium (H. betulae), Micularia (M. merremiae) and Zukaliopsis (Z. amazonica) are placed in Myriangiaceae. Molecular sequence data from fresh collections is required to confirm the relationships and placement of the genera in this family.


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2984 (1) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEANDRO C. S. ASSIS ◽  
MARCELO R. DE CARVALHO ◽  
QUENTIN D. WHEELER

David Wake and colleagues provided a thought-provoking review of the concept of homoplasy through the integration, within a phylogenetic framework, of genetic and developmental data (Wake et al. 2011). According to them (p. 1032) “Molecular sequence data have greatly increased our ability to identify homoplastic traits.” This is made clear, for example, in their flow chart for homoplasy detection (Figure 2, p. 1034), wherein homoplasy is discovered through the mapping of “traits of interest” onto a phylogram, a practice common in the molecular phylogenetic paradigm. The “mapping” is usually of morphological characters that are employed to support the chosen (molecular) topology, but which, as a consequence, do not themselves contribute to the formation of those topologies (Assis & Carvalho 2010).


Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4811 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-63
Author(s):  
KATHRYN M. WEGLARZ ◽  
CHARLES R BARTLETT

The planthopper genus Chionomus Fennah, 1971 (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Delphacidae) currently includes three Neotropical species, removed from the polyphyletic genus Delphacodes Fieber, 1866. Morphological and molecular evidence further redefine Chionomus to include ten additional species (eight species removed from Delphacodes, two described as new, viz. Chionomus dolonus n. sp. and C. herkos n. sp.), with another four species synonymized. Phylogenetic analyses of morphological and molecular sequence data of the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome Oxidase I provide support for the monophyly of Chionomus. We use a mixed model Bayesian optimality criterion to define phylogenetic relationships among Chionomus and support paraphyly of the original definition of Chionomus (with respect to Delphacodes) and monophyly of the revised genus. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Bergamaschi ◽  
Wendy Moore ◽  
Andrea Di Giulio

The myrmecophilous carabid beetle, Paussus favieri, has a circum-Mediterranean distribution and it is completely dependent upon its host ant Pheidole pallidula during all stages of its life history. Using molecular sequence data we inferred the phylogenies of the populations of both the beetle and its ant host to determine if there are signs of co-evolution. A total of 34 P. favieri from France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Tunisia and 42 Ph. pallidula workers from the same countries, plus Greece and Italy, were collected and analyzed. Many mitochondrial and nuclear markers were sequenced, but only COI was evolving fast enough to infer the population-level phylogenies of the beetles and the ants. Preliminary analyses suggest that the European populations of P. favieri are derived from a single dispersal event from Africa, while several dispersal events are suggested for Ph. pallidula. We found the topologies of host and parasite trees to be generally congruent, as would be expected if the host and parasite have had a history of co-evolution or co-divergence.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 839-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Haasl

Phylogenetic relationships within the neogastropod family Nassariidae are poorly understood as are relationships between the Nassariidae and other fossil and extant buccinid taxa. The poor resolution of nassariid and buccinoidean relationships is due to: 1) the complex distribution among these gastropods of characters commonly used in classification; 2) a number of Mesozoic and Paleogene genera whose relationships to extant buccinoidean lineages are poorly constrained; and 3) a lack of previous efforts to address these problems on a rigorous, phylogenetic basis.The results of a phylogenetic analysis of nassariid genera did not decisively support the monophyly of the family. The buccinid subfamily Photinae was an extant sister group to the Nassariinae in a phylogenetic analysis of extant taxa and on many cladograms from an analysis combining fossil and extant taxa. In addition, Buccitriton (representing the Paleogene Tritiaria group) was a sister taxon to the Nassariinae in all analyses in which it was included, regardless of the identity of the extant nassariine sister group. This suggests that the photines, which likely arose from a Tritiaria ancestor, are the closest living relatives to the Nassariinae. Many Paleogene fossil “buccinoid” taxa appear to be more distantly related to the Nassariinae and possibly to the rest of the nassariids as well. Stratigraphic range data combined with the results of this study suggest that the Nassariinae diversified rapidly in the early Miocene and achieved a cosmopolitan distribution early in their history. A largely Indo-Pacific subclade was consistently deeply-nested within the Nassariinae, suggesting that nassariines invaded the Indo-Pacific region most recently. The timing of this invasion is difficult to estimate but had occurred by the end of the Miocene. Further analyses using molecular sequence data, relative stratigraphic position, or focusing in more detail on the Paleogene taxa are required to resolve the identity of the sister group to the Nassariinae with greater confidence.


Genes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Song ◽  
Xin-xin Li ◽  
Qing Zhai ◽  
Hakan Bozdoğan ◽  
Xin-ming Yin

The higher-level phylogeny of Neuroptera is explored here based on the newly determined mitochondrial genomic data, with a special focus on the interfamilial relationships of this group. Despite considerable progress in our understanding of neuropteran relationships, several mutually exclusive hypotheses have come out according to morphology-based analyses and molecular sequence data. The evaluation of these hypotheses is hampered by the limited taxonomic coverage of previous studies. In this paper, we sequenced four mitochondrial genomes to improve the taxonomic sampling for families: Myrmeleontidae, Ascalaphidae and outgroup Corydalidae. Phylogenetic analyses were run using various inference methods to (1) confirm that Coniopterygidae is sister to all other Neuroptera; (2) place Hemerobiidae as sister to Chrysopidae; (3) support the monophyly of Myrmeleontiformia and define its interfamilial relationships; and (4) recover Myrmeleontidae as paraphyletic due to the nested Ascalaphidae.


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4642 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES WILDER ORR ◽  
INGRID SPIES ◽  
DUANE E. STEVENSON ◽  
GARY C. LONGO ◽  
YOSHIAKI KAI ◽  
...  

Phylogenetic relationships of snailfishes of the family Liparidae were analyzed on the basis of two sets of molecular sequence data: one from the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit one gene (COI) and another from restriction-site associated genome-wide sequences (RADseq). The analysis of COI sequence data from at least 122 species of 18 genera from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern oceans resulted in a moderately well-resolved phylogeny among the major clades, albeit with significant polytomy among central clades. Nectoliparis was the sister of all other members of the family, followed by Liparis. Liparis, Careproctus, and Paraliparis were paraphyletic. Liparis was recovered in two closely related clades, with L. fucensis sister of all other liparids except Nectoliparis, and both Careproctus and Paraliparis were each recovered among at least three widely separated clades. The RADseq analysis of 26 species of 11 genera from the eastern North Pacific strongly confirmed the overall results of the COI analysis, with the exception of the paraphyly of Liparis due to the absence of L. fucensis. Our results show that the pelvic disc has been independently lost multiple times and the pectoral-fin girdle has been independently reduced in multiple lineages. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5027 (3) ◽  
pp. 332-350
Author(s):  
TAPAS CHATTERJEE ◽  
M. ANTONIO TODARO

India has a long history of research on freshwater and marine Gastrotricha. In more than 110 years of study on Order Chaetonotida, two families consisting of 11 genera and 39 species have been described. Thirty of these species are taxa originally described from other continents, while only nine species (7 freshwater, 2 marine) are only known from India. The large percentage (77%) of so-called cosmopolitan species in India has contributed to the phenomenon known as the “meiofauna paradox”. However, a careful review of the pertaining literature provides a different biogeographical picture of the chaetonotidan fauna of India. Herein we show that the high incidence of European and North American species reported from India is mainly due to a mixture of misidentification and species lumping. In fact, for only 12 species there are enough data that would make the Indian specimens morphological similar to taxa previously reported from Europe and/or North America. However, without the appropriate molecular sequence data for comparison, there is no way to rule out the possibility of cryptic speciation.We conclude that further sampling throughout India and the use of more powerful microscopical techniques (e.g., DIC optics) and molecular sequencing will reveal more species and improve the quality of re-descriptions of those (9 spp.) that so far appear to be endemic to the subcontinent. Here we recommend six species to be excluded from the fauna of India while another 11 species (non endemic to India) should be considered dubitatively present in the Indian fauna.  


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