Phylogenomics and Historical Biogeography of Seahorses, Dragonets, Goatfishes, and Allies (Teleostei: Syngnatharia): Assessing Factors Driving Uncertainty in Biogeographic Inferences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aintzane Santaquiteria ◽  
Alexandre C Siqueira ◽  
Emanuell Duarte-Ribeiro ◽  
Giorgio Carnevale ◽  
William White ◽  
...  

Abstract The charismatic trumpetfishes, goatfishes, dragonets, flying gurnards, seahorses, and pipefishes encompass a recently defined yet extraordinarily diverse clade of percomorph fishes—the series Syngnatharia. This group is widely distributed in tropical and warm-temperate regions, with a great proportion of its extant diversity occurring in the Indo-Pacific. Because most syngnatharians feature long-range dispersal capabilities, tracing their biogeographic origins is challenging. Here, we applied an integrative phylogenomic approach to elucidate the evolutionary biogeography of syngnatharians. We built upon a recently published phylogenomic study that examined ultraconserved elements by adding 62 species (total 169 species) and one family (Draconettidae), to cover ca. 25% of the species diversity and all 10 families in the group. We inferred a set of time-calibrated trees and conducted ancestral range estimations. We also examined the sensitivity of these analyses to phylogenetic uncertainty (estimated from multiple genomic subsets), area delimitation, and biogeographic models that include or exclude the jump-dispersal parameter (j). Of the three factors examined, we found that the j parameter has the strongest effect in ancestral range estimates, followed by number of areas defined, and tree topology and divergence times. After accounting for these uncertainties, our results reveal that syngnatharians originated in the ancient Tethys Sea ca. 87 Ma (84–94 Ma; Late Cretaceous) and subsequently occupied the Indo-Pacific. Throughout syngnatharian history, multiple independent lineages colonized the eastern Pacific (6–8 times) and the Atlantic (6–14 times) from their center of origin, with most events taking place following an east-to-west route prior to the closure of the Tethys Seaway ca. 12–18 Ma. Ultimately, our study highlights the importance of accounting for different factors generating uncertainty in macroevolutionary and biogeographic inferences.

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 295-295
Author(s):  
Garland R. Upchurch

The Cretaceous rise of flowering plants marked an important transition in the modernization of terrestrial ecosystems. Well documented is the diversification of angiosperm pollen during the mid-Cretaceous and the migration of angiosperms from low latitudes to middle and high latitudes during the Barremian to Cenomanian. Global compilations of “species” diversity indicate a rapid rise in angiosperm diversity during the Albian to Cenomanian. This rise parallels a decline in the species diversity of archaic pteridophytes and the gymnosperm orders Cycadales, Bennettitales, Ginkgoales, Czekanowskiales, and Caytoniales. Late Cretaceous floras show more gradual trends in species diversity than mid-Cretaceous floras.Megafloral reconstructions of vegetation and climate for North America and other continents indicate warm temperatures in coastal regions of middle to high latitudes. Cretaceous biomes, however, often cannot be compared closely with Recent biomes. During much of the Cretaceous, conifers and other gymnosperms shared dominance with angiosperms in tropical and subtropical vegetation, unlike the Recent. During the Late Cretaceous, tropical rainforest was areally restricted. The few known leaf megafloras from equatorial regions indicate subhumid, rather than rainforest, conditions. Desert and semi-desert were widespread at lower latitudes and are documented by the occurrence of evaporite minerals in China, Africa, Spain, Mexico, and South America. Mid-latitude vegetation consisted of open-canopy broadleaved and coniferous evergreen woodlands that existed under subhumid conditions and low seasonality. High-latitude vegetation of the Northern Hemisphere consisted of coniferous and broadleaved deciduous forest, rather than boreal forest and tundra. High-latitude vegetation from coastal regions of the Southern Hemisphere consisted of evergreen conifers and angiosperms. Rainforest conditions appear to have been largely restricted to polar latitudes.Data on relative abundance, though often incomplete, indicate that angiosperms became ecologically important in tropical to warm subtropical broadleaved evergreen forests and woodlands by the Cenomanian. However, their rise to dominance took longer in other biomes. Conifers formed an important component of many Late Cretaceous biomes, and the persistence of archaic gymnosperms was strongly influenced by climate. Deciduous Ginkgoales, Czekanowskiales, Bennettitales, and Caytoniales are rare to absent in Late Cretaceous megafloras from warm subtropical to tropical climates, but they persist in megafloras from cooler climates. Archaic conifers such as Frenelopsis occur in megafloras representing low-latitude desert and semi-desert, but they are generally absent in more humid assemblages. Within mid-latitude broadleaved and coniferous evergreen woodland from North America, conifers show evidence for co-dominance with angiosperms into the early Maastrichtian. However, this co-dominance appears to have ended by latest Maastrichtian, which implies that vegetational reorganization occurred during the last few million years of the Cretaceous in North America.


2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 159-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexei B. Herman

The Turonian - Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) Arman Flora (North-eastern Russia, Magadan District) exhibits a high diversity of fossil angiosperms (28 dicot species). Based on their physiognomy, palaeoclimate variables were estimated showing that the flora experienced a humid warm-temperate climate without any pronounced seasonality. Palaeoclimate variables estimated for the coastal plain floras (Penzhina, Kaivayam and Tylpegyrgynai floras, North-eastern Russia) are the same (within analytical errors) as those estimated for the Arman Flora that existed within uplands of the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanogenic belt. This conclusion implies that the elevation of the intermontane basin of the Arman Flora biotope was not high, presumably not more than 600 m - and not sufficient to be reflected in palaeoclimate experienced by the Arman Flora.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Femke M Holwerda ◽  
Verónica Díez Díaz ◽  
Alejandro Blanco ◽  
Roel Montie ◽  
Jelle WF Reumer

The Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of Morocco and equivalent beds in Algeria have produced a rich fossil assemblage, yielding, amongst others, isolated sauropod teeth, which can be used in species diversity studies. These Albian-Cenomanian (~113 – 93.9 Ma) strata rarely yield sauropod body fossils, therefore, isolated teeth can help to elucidate the faunal assemblages from North Africa, and their relations with those of contemporaneous beds and geographically close assemblages. Eighteen isolated sauropod teeth from three localities (Erfoud and Taouz, Morocco, and Algeria) are studied here, to assess whether the teeth can be ascribed to a specific clade, and whether different tooth morphotypes can be found in the samples. Two general morphotypes are found, based on enamel wrinkling and general tooth morphology. Morphotype I, with mainly rugose enamel wrinkling, pronounced carinae, lemon-shaped to (sub)cylindrical cross-section and mesiodistal tapering towards an apical tip, shows affinities to titanosauriforms and titanosaurs. Morphotype II, characterized by more smooth enamel, cylindrical cross-section, rectangular teeth with no apical tapering and both labial and lingual wear facets, shows similarities to rebbachisaurids. Moreover, similarities are found between these northwest African tooth morphotypes, and tooth morphotypes from titanosaurs and rebbachisaurids from both contemporaneous finds from north and central Africa, as well as from the latest Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian, 83.6Ma – 66.0Ma) of the Ibero-Armorican Island. These results support previous hypotheses from earlier studies on faunal exchange and continental connections between North Africa and Southern Europe in the Cretaceous.


2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1895) ◽  
pp. 20182076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic A. Evangelista ◽  
Benjamin Wipfler ◽  
Olivier Béthoux ◽  
Alexander Donath ◽  
Mari Fujita ◽  
...  

Phylogenetic relationships among subgroups of cockroaches and termites are still matters of debate. Their divergence times and major phenotypic transitions during evolution are also not yet settled. We addressed these points by combining the first nuclear phylogenomic study of termites and cockroaches with a thorough approach to divergence time analysis, identification of endosymbionts, and reconstruction of ancestral morphological traits and behaviour. Analyses of the phylogenetic relationships within Blattodea robustly confirm previously uncertain hypotheses such as the sister-group relationship between Blaberoidea and remaining Blattodea, and Lamproblatta being the closest relative to the social and wood-feeding Cryptocercus and termites. Consequently, we propose new names for various clades in Blattodea: Cryptocercus + termites = Tutricablattae; Lamproblattidae + Tutricablattae = Kittrickea; and Blattoidea + Corydioidea = Solumblattodea. Our inferred divergence times contradict previous studies by showing that most subgroups of Blattodea evolved in the Cretaceous, reducing the gap between molecular estimates of divergence times and the fossil record. On a phenotypic level, the blattodean ground-plan is for egg packages to be laid directly in a hole while other forms of oviposition, including ovovivipary and vivipary, arose later. Finally, other changes in egg care strategy may have allowed for the adaptation of nest building and other novelties.


1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W. Sumner

Palynomorph assemblages dominated by dinoflagellate cysts are described from seventeen samples from the Rabot Member of the Santa Marta Formation at Ekelöf Point, eastern James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Although the assemblages are of relatively low diversity, the dinoflagellate cyst taxa recorded indicate a mid to late Campanian (Late Cretaceous) age. Changes in species diversity, dominance and gonyaulacacean ratio suggest a gradually reducing distance from shore during deposition, with a return to more offshore conditions towards the section top. A new species of dinoflagellate cyst, Isabelidinium papillum, is described.


Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4379 (3) ◽  
pp. 439 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERTO LEONAN M. NOVAES ◽  
GUILHERME S. T. GARBINO ◽  
VINÍCIUS C. CLÁUDIO ◽  
RICARDO MORATELLI

Baird et al. (2015) split Lasiurus into three distinct genera (Aeorestes, Dasypterus and Lasiurus) based on tree topology and divergence times for the tribe Lasiurini. This arrangement has not been widely adopted by the scientific community and was criticized by Ziegler et al. (2016). More recently, Baird et al. (2017) reinforced the taxonomic arrangement of Lasiurini comprised by three genera. Baird et al. (2015, 2017) provided the most comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of Lasiurus and offer important insights on the phylogeny and alpha-taxonomy of the group. However, we disagree with the taxonomic arrangement proposed at the genus level and explain our point below. 


2010 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 895-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Squires

The Late Cretaceous to late Paleocene record of glycymeridid bivalves in the region extending from the Alaska Peninsula, southward to Baja California, Mexico is studied in detail for the first time. Glycymeris pacifica (Anderson, 1902), of late Cenomanian to late Turonian age, is the earliest known glycymeridid in the study area. Very locally, it is found with the middle to late Turonian Glycymeris yoloensis n. sp. The latter apparently represents some intermediate state between genus Glycymeris da Costa, 1778 and genus Glycymerita Finlay and Marwick, 1937. In the study area, Glycymerita is represented by Glycymerita veatchii (Gabb, 1864), middle to late Turonian to late Campanian; Glycymerita banosensis (Anderson, 1958) new combination, late Campanian to latest Maastrichtian; Glycymerita aleuta n. sp., known only from Alaska and of early Maastrichtian age; and Glycymerita major (Stanton, 1896) new combination, Selandian to Thanetian. All the studied species lived in warm-temperate, shallow-marine waters and were shallow burrowers in fine-grained siliciclastic sediments. Variability in morphology is common in sizeable populations of the various species, especially Glycymerita veatchii, which increased nearly fivefold in size during its 19.5 million-year-long range and culminated in shells up to 84 mm in length.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marshal Hedin ◽  
Shahan Derkarabetian ◽  
Adan Alfaro ◽  
Martín J. Ramírez ◽  
Jason E. Bond

The atypoid mygalomorphs include spiders from three described families that build a diverse array of entrance web constructs, including funnel-and-sheet webs, purse webs, trapdoors, turrets and silken collars. Molecular phylogenetic analyses have generally supported the monophyly of Atypoidea, but prior studies have not sampled all relevant taxa. Here we generated a dataset of ultraconserved element loci for all described atypoid genera, including taxa (MecicobothriumandHexurella)key to understanding familial monophyly, divergence times, and patterns of entrance web evolution. We show that the conserved regions of the arachnid UCE probe set target exons, such that it should be possible to combine UCE and transcriptome datasets in arachnids. We also show that different UCE probes sometimes target the same protein, and under the matching parameters used here show that UCE alignments sometimes include non-orthologs. Using multiple curated phylogenomic matrices we recover a monophyletic Atypoidea, and reveal that the family Mecicobothriidae comprises four separate and divergent lineages. Fossil-calibrated divergence time analyses suggest ancient Triassic (or older) origins for several relictual atypoid lineages, with late Cretaceous/early Tertiary divergences within some genera indicating a high potential for cryptic species diversity. The ancestral entrance web construct for atypoids, and all mygalomorphs, is reconstructed as a funnel-and-sheet web.


Palaeobotany ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 32-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. B. Golovneva

Fossil plants from the Late Cretaceous deposits of the Khatanga depression are joined in three floristic assemblages: the Ledyanaya assemblage (the Turonian-Coniacian), the Kheta assemblage (the late Coniacian-early Santonian) and Mutino assemblage (the late Santonian-early Campanian). The Ledyanaya floristic assemblage contains ferns (Anemia rarinervis Abramova), cycadophytes (Nilssonia sp.), ginkgoales (Ginkgo ex gr. sibirica Heer), conifers (Taxodium sp., Sequoia tenuifolia (Schmalh.) Sveshn. et Budants.) and angiosperms (Pseudoprotophyllum hatangaense Abramova, Liriodendropsis simplex (Newb.) Newb., Trochodendroides sp., ะกissites sp., Dicotylophyllum sp.). The characteristic features of this assemblage are depauperated composition of angiosperms and survival of the Early Cretaceous relic elements. The Kheta floristic assemblage contains only Taxodium sp. and Trochodendroides sp. The Mutino floristic assemblage contains Sequoia tenuifolia, Pseudoprotophyllum hatangaense, Quereuxia angulata (Newb.) Krysht. ex Baik. and Cobbania corrugata (Lesq.) Stockey, Rothwell et Johnson. The Ledyanaya floristic assemblage is very similar with the Newsiberian flora from the Derevyannye Gory Formation of New Siberia Island. The Mutino floristic assemblage have common elements with Kundur flora (the Campanian) from the Kundur Formation of Amur region. The abundance of large leaves of Pseudoprotophyllum in the Mutino flora is evidence of the preservation of humid warm-temperate climate in the northern part of Siberia up to the Campanian. The presence of water plants Quereuxia angulata and Cobbania corrugada indicates the westward migration of some characteristic elements of the Pacific ocean lowlands.


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