Reassembling a lost lowland carabid beetle assemblage (Coleoptera) from Kauai, Hawaiian Islands

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
James K. Liebherr ◽  
Nick Porch
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Hawaiian Islands ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Carabid Beetle ◽  
Phylogenetic Hypothesis ◽  
Extinct Species ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Lowland Area ◽  
History Of

A late Holocene but prehistoric carabid beetle fauna from the lowland Makauwahi Cave, Kauai, is characterised. Seven extinct species – Blackburnia burneyi, B. cryptipes, B. godzilla, B. menehune, B. mothra, B. ovata and B. rugosa, spp. nov. (tribe Platynini) – represent the first Hawaiian insect species to be newly described from subfossil specimens. Four extant Blackburnia spp. – B. aterrima (Sharp), B. bryophila Liebherr, B. pavida (Sharp), and B. posticata (Sharp) – and three extant species of tribe Bembidiini – Bembidion ignicola Blackburn, B. pacificum Sharp and Tachys oahuensis Blackburn – are also represented. All subfossil fragments are disarticulated, with physical dimensions and cladistic analysis used to associate the major somites – head, prothorax and elytra – for description of the new species. The seven new Makauwahi Cave species support recognition of a lowland area of endemism adjoining Haupu, a low-stature 700 m elevation ridgeline in southern Kauai. Four of the extinct Blackburnia are adelphotaxa to extant species currently found at higher elevations in Kauai. Addition of these lowland specialists to the phylogenetic hypothesis undercuts applicability of the taxon cycle for interpreting evolutionary history of these taxa. Two of the extinct species are Kauai representatives in clades that subsequently colonised younger Hawaiian Islands, enhancing support for the progressive biogeographic colonisation of the archipelago by this lineage. And three of the extinct Blackburnia species comprised larger beetles than those of any extant Kauai Blackburnia, consistent with the evolution of island gigantism in the lowland habitats of Kauai.

scholarly journals Extensive introgression and mosaic genomes of Mediterranean endemic lizards

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Weizhao Yang ◽  
Nathalie Feiner ◽  
Catarina Pinho ◽  
Geoffrey M. While ◽  
Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
The Past ◽  
Island Endemics ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Mediterranean Island ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

AbstractThe Mediterranean basin is a hotspot of biodiversity, fuelled by climatic oscillation and geological change over the past 20 million years. Wall lizards of the genus Podarcis are among the most abundant, diverse, and conspicuous Mediterranean fauna. Here, we unravel the remarkably entangled evolutionary history of wall lizards by sequencing genomes of 34 major lineages covering 26 species. We demonstrate an early (>11 MYA) separation into two clades centred on the Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas, and two clades of Mediterranean island endemics. Diversification within these clades was pronounced between 6.5–4.0 MYA, a period spanning the Messinian Salinity Crisis, during which the Mediterranean Sea nearly dried up before rapidly refilling. However, genetic exchange between lineages has been a pervasive feature throughout the entire history of wall lizards. This has resulted in a highly reticulated pattern of evolution across the group, characterised by mosaic genomes with major contributions from two or more parental taxa. These hybrid lineages gave rise to several of the extant species that are endemic to Mediterranean islands. The mosaic genomes of island endemics may have promoted their extraordinary adaptability and striking diversity in body size, shape and colouration, which have puzzled biologists for centuries.

The evolutionary history of Nothofagus (Nothofagaceae)

1993 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
RS Hill ◽  
GJ Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Parallel Evolution ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Interesting Insight ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Singular Event ◽  
History Of ◽  
Morphological Differences ◽  
The Relationship

A cladistic analysis of Nothofagus is presented. Comparison of potential outgroups (Fagus and Betulaceae) suggests that Fagus is most satisfactory, but clear morphological differences between it and Nothofagus support the placement of the latter in the monogeneric family Nothofagaceae. The cladistic analysis supports the four subgenera and four extant pollen groups proposed in the most recent revisions and is consistent with the extensive fossil record, although not especially supported by it. The evolution of the deciduous or evergreen habit. so long considered a singular event of importance in Nothofagus, probably occurred several times, and is an example of parallel evolution. Resolution within subgenera is not high in most cases, but subgenus Lophozonia offers a particularly interesting insight into the relationship among extant species and the role of rare long distance dispersal across significant ocean barriers in Nothofagus biogeography. More data are required to refine the phylogeny.

Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Grigg ◽  
David Kirshner
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Black And White ◽  
New Information ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
To Come

Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians is a comprehensive review of current knowledge about the world's largest and most famous living reptiles. Gordon Grigg's authoritative and accessible text and David Kirshner's stunning interpretive artwork and colour photographs combine expertly in this contemporary celebration of crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials. This book showcases the skills and capabilities that allow crocodylians to live how and where they do. It covers the biology and ecology of the extant species, conservation issues, crocodylian–human interaction and the evolutionary history of the group, and includes a vast amount of new information; 25 per cent of 1100 cited publications have appeared since 2007. Richly illustrated with more than 500 colour photographs and black and white illustrations, this book will be a benchmark reference work for crocodylian biologists, herpetologists and vertebrate biologists for years to come. Winner of the 2015 Whitley Medal.

scholarly journals Joint Phylogenetic Estimation of Geographic Movements and Biome Shifts during the Global Diversification of Viburnum

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J Landis ◽  
Deren A R Eaton ◽  
Wendy L Clement ◽  
Brian Park ◽  
Elizabeth L Spriggs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Joint Estimation ◽  
Molecular Sequences ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Vessel Elements ◽  
History Of ◽  
Phylogenetic Estimation ◽  
Dated Phylogeny ◽  
Warm Temperate ◽  
Lines Of Evidence

Abstract Phylogeny, molecular sequences, fossils, biogeography, and biome occupancy are all lines of evidence that reflect the singular evolutionary history of a clade, but they are most often studied separately, by first inferring a fossil-dated molecular phylogeny, then mapping on ancestral ranges and biomes inferred from extant species. Here we jointly model the evolution of biogeographic ranges, biome affinities, and molecular sequences, while incorporating fossils to estimate a dated phylogeny for all of the 163 extant species of the woody plant clade Viburnum (Adoxaceae) that we currently recognize in our ongoing worldwide monographic treatment of the group. Our analyses indicate that while the major Viburnum lineages evolved in the Eocene, the majority of extant species originated since the Miocene. Viburnum radiated first in Asia, in warm, broad-leaved evergreen (lucidophyllous) forests. Within Asia, we infer several early shifts into more tropical forests, and multiple shifts into forests that experience prolonged freezing. From Asia, we infer two early movements into the New World. These two lineages probably first occupied warm temperate forests and adapted later to spreading cold climates. One of these lineages (Porphyrotinus) occupied cloud forests and moved south through the mountains of the Neotropics. Several other movements into North America took place more recently, facilitated by prior adaptations to freezing in the Old World. We also infer four disjunctions between Asia and Europe: the Tinus lineage is the oldest and probably occupied warm forests when it spread, whereas the other three were more recent and in cold-adapted lineages. These results variously contradict published accounts, especially the view that Viburnum radiated initially in cold forests and, accordingly, maintained vessel elements with scalariform perforations. We explored how the location and biome assignments of fossils affected our inference of ancestral areas and biome states. Our results are sensitive to, but not entirely dependent upon, the inclusion of fossil biome data. It will be critical to take advantage of all available lines of evidence to decipher events in the distant past. The joint estimation approach developed here provides cautious hope even when fossil evidence is limited. [Biogeography; biome; combined evidence; fossil pollen; phylogeny; Viburnum.]

scholarly journals Three novel species of Bacillariophyta (Diatoms) belonging to Aulacoseira and Lindavia from the Pliocene Hadar Formation, Afar Depression of Ethiopia

Phytotaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 272 (4) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
JOSEPH MOHAN ◽  
JEFFERY R. STONE ◽  
CHRISTOPHER J CAMPISANO
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Novel Species ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Core Material ◽  
Afar Depression ◽  
Sedimentary Deposits ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
Drilling Project ◽  
Hadar Formation

Paleolake Hadar was an expansive lake in the lower Awash Valley of Ethiopia’s Afar Depression that existed periodically through the Late Pliocene. The sedimentary deposits from this ancient lake (Hadar Formation) have broad importance because a significant number of hominin fossils have been recovered from the formation. Samples of the Hadar Formation lacustrine sequence were collected from sediment cores extracted as part of the Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP). A paleoecological study of the HSPDP Northern Awash (Hadar Formation) material has unearthed three novel species of Bacillariophyta (diatoms) from diatomites that appear periodically in the cores. The Hadar Formation assemblage represents a newly revealed excerpt from the evolutionary history of freshwater diatoms in East Africa during the Piacenᴢian age (2.59–3.60 Ma). The HSPDP Northern Awash diatom species are compared to previously reported diatoms from Pliocene outcrops, modern and fossil core material from Lake Malawi, and extant species. Here we describe two new species of Aulacoseira and one of Lindavia. Taxonomic treatment of two diatom varieties reported by previous researchers as Melosira are transferred into Aulacoseira herein.

scholarly journals Into Thinner Air: The Pliocene Demise of the Giant Volant Birds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Cannell
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Energy Levels ◽  
Atmospheric Density ◽  
Late Pliocene ◽  
Extinct Species ◽  
Ecological Stress ◽  
A Value ◽  
History Of ◽  
Atmospheric Mass

Three genera of very large volant birds existed for most of the Pliocene: the Pelagornithidae seabirds; the large North American Teratornithidae and the stork Leptoptilos falconeri in Africa and Asia. All became extinct around 3 Ma. The reasons for their demise are puzzling, as the Pelagornithidae had a world-wide evolutionary history of more than 50 Ma, smaller teratorns were still extant in the Holocene and smaller stork species are still globally extant. Extant large birds have a common critical takeoff airspeed suggesting a biomechanical limit in terms of power, risk and launch speed, and simulations of the flight of these extinct species suggest that at 1 bar they would have exceeded this value. Estimates for the Late Pliocene atmospheric density are derived from marine and terrestrial isotopes as well as resin chemistry, both approaches suggesting a value of about 1.2 bar, which drops to present levels during the period 3.3 to 2.6 Ma, thus a loss in atmospheric density may have caused biomechanical and ecological stress contributing to their extinction and/or development of smaller forms. This hypothesis is examined in terms of a possible mechanism of atmospheric mass loss and how this would be seen in the geological record. At 1.2 bar all the extinct species present takeoff airspeeds similar to large extant volant birds and which match the expected power and kinetic energy levels.

Recognizing the species of Thuja (Cupressaceae) based on their cone and foliage morphology

Phytotaxa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 219 (2) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Sun ◽  
Yi-Ming Cui ◽  
Hai-Feng Wang ◽  
David Kay Ferguson ◽  
Qiao-Ping Xiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
History Of

Thuja, with 5 extant species, exhibiting a disjunctive distribution between East Asia (3 species) and North America (2 species), was investigated with respect to the morphological characters of foliage and cones by LM and SEM. Here we provide 2 keys to all 5 species of Thuja based on the cones and foliage respectively, which not  only can be used for identifying extant Thuja at the species level, but also have a great potential for recognizing and/or linking the fossil species to living ones, and further tracing the evolutionary history of the genus.

A fossil water measurer from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hemiptera: Gerromorpha: Hydrometridae)

2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Møller Andersen ◽  
David Grimaldi
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Wing Venation ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Burmese Amber ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
History Of

AbstractSemiaquatic bugs (Hemiptera: Gerromorpha) comprise about 1,800 extant species classified in eight families. So far, 38 fossil species belonging to six families have been described or recorded, most of Cenozoic age. Knowledge about the evolutionary history of the major groups of Gerromorpha is seriously hampered by the scarcity of well-preserved Mesozoic fossils, especially from the Cretaceous. The present paper reports on a well-preserved semiaquatic bug from amber collected in the northern part of Myanmar (Burma). The source of this fossiliferous amber was previously considered to be Eocene in age, but recent evidence indicates that it originated in the Middle Cretaceous (Turonian-Cenomanian), or 100-90 Ma. The fossil species is described as Carinametra burmensis gen. et sp. n. The presence of three pairs of cephalic trichobothria, a prolonged head, long slender antennae and legs, reduced wing venation, etc., places the fossil in the gerromorphan family Hydrometridae or water measurers. Other characters suggest a close relationship with the two extant genera of the most basal of the hydrometrid subfamilies, Heterocleptinae. We present and discuss the available evidence used in the dating of Burmese amber. Finally, we discuss the phylogenetic, paleobiological, and biogeographic significance of the new fossil.

scholarly journals A cladistic analysis of phenotypic associations with haplotypes inferred from restriction endonuclease mapping. IV. Nested analyses with cladogram uncertainty and recombination.

Genetics ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
pp. 659-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
A R Templeton ◽  
C F Sing
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Statistical Design ◽  
Worked Examples ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Permutation Testing ◽  
Phenotypic Effect ◽  
Analytical Strategy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Endonuclease Mapping

Abstract We previously developed an analytical strategy based on cladistic theory to identify subsets of haplotypes that are associated with significant phenotypic deviations. Our initial approach was limited to segments of DNA in which little recombination occurs. In such cases, a cladogram can be constructed from the restriction site data to estimate the evolutionary steps that interrelate the observed haplotypes to one another. The cladogram is then used to define a nested statistical design for identifying mutational steps associated with significant phenotypic deviations. The central assumption behind this strategy is that a mutation responsible for a particular phenotypic effect is embedded within the evolutionary history that is represented by the cladogram. The power of this approach depends on the accuracy of the cladogram in portraying the evolutionary history of the DNA region. This accuracy can be diminished both by recombination and by uncertainty in the estimated cladogram topology. In a previous paper, we presented an algorithm for estimating the set of likely claodgrams and recombination events. In this paper we present an algorithm for defining a nested statistical design under cladogram uncertainty and recombination. Given the nested design, phenotypic associations can be examined using either a nested analysis of variance (for haploids or homozygous strains) or permutation testing (for outcrossed, diploid gene regions). In this paper we also extend this analytical strategy to include categorical phenotypes in addition to quantitative phenotypes. Some worked examples are presented using Drosophila data sets. These examples illustrate that having some recombination may actually enhance the biological inferences that may derived from a cladistic analysis. In particular, recombination can be used to assign a physical localization to a given subregion for mutations responsible for significant phenotypic effects.

scholarly journals Deep ancestral introgression shapes evolutionary history of dragonflies and damselflies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Suvorov ◽  
Celine Scornavacca ◽  
M. Stanley Fujimoto ◽  
Paul Bodily ◽  
Mark Clement ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Species Relationships ◽  
Phenotypic Characteristics ◽  
Tree Model ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
Evolutionary Force ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
Strictly Binary Tree

SUMMARYIntrogression is arguably one of the most important biological processes in the evolution of groups of related species, affecting at least 10% of the extant species in the animal kingdom. Introgression reduces genetic divergence between species, and in some cases can be highly beneficial, facilitating rapid adaptation to ever-changing environmental pressures. Introgression also significantly impacts inference of phylogenetic species relationships where a strictly binary tree model cannot adequately explain reticulate net-like species relationships. Here we use phylogenomic approaches to understand patterns of introgression along the evolutionary history of a unique, non-model, relic insect system: dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata). We demonstrate that introgression is a pervasive evolutionary force across various taxonomic levels within Odonata. In particular, we show that the morphologically “intermediate” species of Anisozygoptera (one of the three primary suborders within Odonata besides Zygoptera and Anisoptera), which retain phenotypic characteristics of the other two suborders, experienced high levels of introgression probably coming from zygopteran genomes. Additionally, we found evidence for multiple cases of deep inter-familial ancestral introgression. However, weaker evidence of introgression was found within more recently diverged focal clades: Aeshnidae, Gomphidae+Petaluridae and Libellulidae.

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