Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Taxonomic Discoveries Enabled By Genomic Analysis Of Butterflies, Jing Zhang, Qing Cong, Jinhui Shen, Leina Song, Riley J. Gott, Pierre Boyer, Crispin S. Guppy, Steve Kohler, Gerardo Lamas, Paul A. Opler, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

The comparative genomics of butterflies yields additional insights into their phylogeny and classification that are compiled here. As a result, 3 genera, 5 subgenera, 5 species, and 3 subspecies are proposed as new, that is, in Hesperiidae: Antina Grishin, gen. n. (type species Antigonus minor O. Mielke, 1980), Pompe Grishin and Lamas, gen. n. (type species Lerema postpuncta Draudt, 1923), and Curva Grishin, gen. n. (type species Moeris hyagnis Godman, 1900); in Lycaenidae: Fussia Grishin, subgen. n. (type species Polyommatus standfussi Grum-Grshimailo, 1891) and Pava Grishin, subgen. n. (type species Thecla panava Westwood, 1852); in Hesperiidae: Monoca Grishin, subgen. n. …

Proximate And Ultimate Perspectives On Romantic Love

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

Romantic love is a phenomenon of immense interest to the general public as well as to scholars in several disciplines. It is known to be present in almost all human societies and has been studied from a number of perspectives. In this integrative review, we bring together what is known about romantic love using Tinbergen’s “four questions” framework originating from evolutionary biology. Under the first question, related to mechanisms, we show that it is caused by social, psychological mate choice, genetic, neural, and endocrine mechanisms. The mechanisms regulating psychopathology, cognitive biases, and animal models provide further insights into the mechanisms …

Genomic Dna Sequencing Reveals Two New North American Species Of Staphylus (Hesperiidae: Pyrginae: Carcharodini), Jing Zhang

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Two new skipper butterfly (Hesperiidae) species are described from the United States: Staphylus floridus Grishin, sp. n. (type locality in Florida, Volusia County) and Staphylus ecos Grishin, sp. n. (type locality in Texas, Brewster County). They are cryptic and hence escaped recognition. They differ from their sister species by the relative size and morphology of genitalia and by genotype—including and beyond the COI barcode—thus, suggesting genetic isolation that argues for their species-level status. A lectotype is designated for Helias ascalaphus Staudinger, 1876. Staphylus opites (Godman & Salvin, 1896), stat. rest. is a species-level taxon and not a synonym of Staphylus …

Phylogenomic Discordance Suggests Polytomies Along The Backbone Of The Large Genus Solanum, Edeline Gagnon, Rebeccca Hilgenhof, Andrés Orejuela, Angela J. Mcdonnell, Gaurav Sablok, Xavier Aubriot, Leandro Giacomin, Yuri Gouvêa, Thamyris Bragionis, João Renato Stehmann, Lynn Bohs, Steven Dodsworth, Christopher T. Martine, Péter Poczai, Sandra Knapp, Tiina Särkinen

Faculty Journal Articles

Premise of the study

Evolutionary studies require solid phylogenetic frameworks, but increased volumes of phylogenomic data have revealed incongruent topologies among gene trees in many organisms both between and within genomes. Some of these incongruences indicate polytomies that may remain impossible to resolve. Here we investigate the degree of gene-tree discordance in Solanum, one of the largest flowering plant genera that includes the cultivated potato, tomato, and eggplant, as well as 24 minor crop plants.

Methods

A densely sampled species-level phylogeny of Solanum is built using unpublished and publicly available Sanger sequences comprising 60% of all accepted species (742 spp.) …

Molecular Phylogeny Of Cave Dwelling Eremogryllodes Crickets (Orthoptera, Myrmecophilidae) Across Zagros Mountains And Southern Iran, Mohadeseh Sadat Tahami, Mina Hojat-Ansari, Anna Namyatova, Saber Sadeghi

International Journal of Speleology

Recently, several new species and subspecies from the genus Eremogryllodes Chopard, 1929 (Insecta: Orthoptera: Myrmecophilidae) inhabiting caves of Iran, have been described based on morphology. The high variation of genitalia structure along with high similarity of external morphology between populations hamper the precise species identification. Thus, molecular approaches are critical to determine the taxonomic positions of species/subspecies of this genus. Here we provide the molecular phylogeny, based on the 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene, of recently described species of Eremogryllodes along with some unidentified specimens from the same region. The results support the monophyly of the family Myrmecophilidae. The topology of …

Genomics-Guided Refinement Of Butterfly Taxonomy, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Paul A. Opler, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Continuing with comparative genomic exploration of worldwide butterfly fauna, we use all proteincoding genes as they are retrieved from the whole genome shotgun sequences for phylogeny construction. Analysis of these genome-scale phylogenies projected onto the taxonomic classification and the knowledge about butterfly phenotypes suggests further refinements of butterfly taxonomy that are presented here. As a general rule, we assign most prominent clades of similar genetic differentiation to the same taxonomic rank, and use criteria based on relative population diversification and the extent of gene exchange for species delimitation. As a result, 7 tribes, 4 subtribes, 14 genera, and 9 subgenera …

Single-Locus Species Delimitation And Ecological Niche Modeling Provide Insights Into The Evolution, Historical Distribution, And Taxonomy Of The Pacific Chorus Frogs, Robert C. Jadin, Sarah A. Orlofske, Tereza Jezkova, Christopher Blair

Publications and Research

The Pacific chorus frogs are a complex of three wide-ranging species (i.e. Hyliola hypochondriaca, Hyliola regilla, Hyliola sierra) whose current taxonomy remains unresolved. We conducted species delimitation analyses of these taxa using fragments of the cytochrome b and 12S–16S mtDNA genes to assess the species diversity. Importantly, we included samples from new locations throughout the range to better understand species distributions and identify potential contact zones among clades. Our analyses revealed three slightly parapatric but distinct species-level clades. Molecular dating revealed that these species began diverging in the Pleistocene c. 1.4 Mya with H. hypochondriaca and …

Genomic Evidence Suggests Further Changes Of Butterfly Names, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Pal A. Opler, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Further genomic sequencing of butterflies by our research group expanding the coverage of species and specimens from different localities, coupled with genome-scale phylogenetic analysis and complemented by phenotypic considerations, suggests a number of changes to the names of butterflies, mostly those recorded from the United States and Canada. Here, we present evidence to support these changes. The changes are intended to make butterfly classification more internally consistent at the genus, subgenus and species levels. That is, considering all available evidence, we attempt to assign similar taxonomic ranks to the clades of comparable genetic differentiation, which on average is correlated with …

Taxonomic Revision Of The Western Hemisphere Checkered Beetle Genus Axina Kirby (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae), Weston Opitz

Insecta Mundi

The New World genus Axina Kirby (Coleoptera: Cleridae) is revised for the first time. Thirty-two new species are described: Axina acutipennis, A. adelosa, A. atmis, A. bahia, A. bella, A. brunnea, A. chiasta, A. furcula, A. heveli, A. ignota, A. klisis, A. latilinea, A. lobispinula, A. luzia, A. macilenta, A. megaspina, A. minas, A. ochra, A. oligocheia, A. ordinis, A. …

Delineation Of Undescribed, Morphologically Cryptic Cave Beetles Of The Pseudanophthalmus Pubescens Species-Group (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae), Jedidiah John Nixon

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The genus Pseudanophthalmus Jeannel is a widespread and extremely diverse taxon of troglobiont beetle endemic to the karst of eastern North America, with its distribution centered in Tennessee and Kentucky. Despite lying near the heart of this region, the pubescens species-group was thought to contain many undescribed species. In this study, the validities of several of the late Dr. Thomas Barr’s unpublished putative new species in the pubescens-group were tested both morphologically and molecularly. Body measurements (length and width for head, thorax, and abdomen), as well as male genital morphology were compared to see if they reflected theorized species limits.. …

Molecular Differentiation Of Astragalus Species And Varieties From The Western United States: The Chloroplast Dna Bridge Between Evolution And Molecular Systematics, Marwa Neyaz, Daniel Cook, Rebecca Creamer

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

Locoweeds are the most widespread poisonous plant problem in the world and have been reported in the Western United States since the 1800s, causing tremendous losses in livestock. Consumption of locoweeds by grazing animals stimulates the neurological disease, locoism, characterized by weight loss, ataxia, and lack of muscular coordination. The name locoweed is used for Astragalus and Oxytropis species known to contain swainsonine, the toxic principle produced by the plant endophytic fungus Undifilum. Astragalus includes 2,500-3,000 species and many varieties that have almost identical morphological characteristics that overlap among species, leading to improper identification. Therefore, the aim of this study …

Temperate Eurasian Origins Of Hawaiian Chenopodium (Amaranthaceae) Plus Description Of A New Species Endemic To Moloka‘I, Jason T. Cantley, Angela J. Mcdonnell, J Branson, S R. Long, W Garnett, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

Chenopodium taxa of Hawai‘i are tetraploids distinguished from other members of the circumglobally distributed genus by minute morphological characters. Because of these reasons, the geographic origin of Hawaiian Chenopodium has remained unclear. Across the Hawaiian Archipelago, Chenopodium taxa are morphologically variable and grow in highly disparate xeric habitats, especially in terms of precipitation, temperature, wind, salt spray, and solar irradiation. Habitats include dry subalpine shrublands, sandy beach strand of atolls in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, dry forests, and precipitously tall sea cliffs of northwestern Moloka‘i. From the Moloka‘i sea cliffs, which are battered by high energy winds, salt spray, and …

Changes To North American Butterfly Names, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Paul A. Opler, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

We obtained and analyzed whole genome shotgun sequences of all 845 species of butterflies recorded from Canada and the United States. Genome-scale phylogenetic trees constructed from the data reveal several nonmonophyletic genera and suggest improved classification of species included in these genera. Here, these changes are formalized and 2 subgenera are described: Amblyteria Grishin, subgen. n. (type species Goniloba exoteria Herrich-Schäffer, 1869, parent genus Amblyscirtes Scudder, 1872), and Coa Grishin, subgen. n. (type species Hesperia baracoa Lucas, 1857, parent genus Polites Scudder, 1872). Furthermore, we resurrect 3 genera and 2 subgenera from synonymy, change the rank of 6 currently used …

Rasp 4: Ancestral State Reconstruction Tool For Multiple Genes And Characters, Yan Yu, Christopher Blair, Xingjin He

Publications and Research

With the continual progress of sequencing techniques, genome-scale data are increasingly used in phylogenetic studies. With more data from throughout the genome, the relationship between genes and different kinds of characters is receiving more attention. Here, we present version 4 of RASP, a software to reconstruct ancestral states through phylogenetic trees. RASP can apply generalized statistical ancestral reconstruction methods to phylogenies, explore the phylogenetic signal of characters to particular trees, calculate distances between trees, and cluster trees into groups. RASP 4 has an improved graphic user interface and is freely available from http://mnh.scu.edu.cn/soft/blog/RASP (program) and https://github.com/sculab/RASP (source code).

Fifty New Genera Of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera), Qian Cong, Jing Zhang, Jinhui Shen, Nick V. Grishin

Insecta Mundi

Genomic sequencing and analysis of worldwide skipper butterfly (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) fauna points to imperfections in their current classification. Some tribes, subtribes and genera as they are circum­scribed today are not monophyletic. Rationalizing genomic results from the perspective of phenotypic characters suggests two new tribes, two new subtribes and 50 new genera that are named here: Ceratrichiini Grishin, trib. n., Gretnini Grishin, trib. n., Falgina Grishin, subtr. n., Apaustina Grishin, subtr. n., Flattoides Grishin, gen. n., Aurivittia Grishin, gen. n., Viuria Grishin, gen. n., Clytius Grishin, gen. n., Incisus Grishin, gen. n., …

Ornithological Expeditions To Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, 2007-2017, Frederick H. Sheldon, Haw Chuan Lim, Phred M. Benham, Matthew L. Brady, Clare E. Brown, Ryan C. Burner, Vivien L. Chua, John C. Mittermeier, Subir B. Shakya, Paul Van Els, Mustafa Abdul Rahman, Dency F. Gawin, Zahirunisa Abdul Rahim, Luisa Duya Setia, Robert Moyle

Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University, the University of Kansas, and the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak undertook collaborative research on the evolution and ecology of Bornean birds starting in 2005. This collaboration included a series of expeditions from 2007–2017 to collect and study birds at >30 sites in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Here we provide information on the study-sites and summarize the main discoveries resulting from the collaboration.

Documenting Evolution: Comparing And Contrasting Late Mesozoic And Late Cenozoic Molluscan Patterns, Joshua Slattery

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite major advances, evolutionary theory still has numerous shortcomings in terms of fully understanding the controls on speciation and diversification. A major factor limiting our knowledge is how biology and paleobiology view speciation from separate micro- and macro-evolutionary perspectives, respectively. Biologists typically examine microevolutionary changes within species from various biogeographic, behavioral, morphological, and genetic perspectives, which contrasts to the macroevolutionary approach of most paleobiologists, who have examined the same phenomena at larger scales but with the standpoint of time, have also concentrated on aspects of global or regional diversification (e.g., richness, origination rates, and extinction rates) over the long-term. Noticeably …

Expanded Phenotypic Diagnoses For 24 Recently Named New Taxa Of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera), Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Expanded diagnoses by phenotypic characters for the 24 new taxa named in the article "Genomes of skipper butterflies reveal extensive convergence of wing patterns" by Li, W., Cong, Q., Shen, J., Zhang, J., Hallwachs, W., Janzen, D.H. and Grishin, N.V., 2019 and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on March 15, 2019 are provided and illustrated. More detailed diagnoses will help identifying these phylogenetic groups by their wing patterns and shapes and other morphological characters including the structures of antennae and genitalia using this single publication, instead of obtaining the …

Multiple Connections Between Amazonia And Atlantic Forest Shaped The T Phylogenetic And Morphological Diversity Of Chiasmocleis Mehely, 1904 (Anura: Microhylidae: Gastrophryninae), Rafael O. De Sá, João Filipe Riva Tonini, Hannah Van Huss, Alex Long, Travis Cuddy, Mauricio C. Forlani, Pedro L.V. Peloso, Hussam Zaher, Célio F.B. Haddad

Biology Faculty Publications

Chiasmocleis is the most species-rich genus of Neotropical microhylids. Herein, we provide the first comprehensive multilocus phylogeny for the genus, including all but 3 of the 34 recognized species and multiple individuals per species. We discuss cryptic speciation, species discovery, patterns of morphological evolution, and provide a historical biogeographic analysis to account for the current distribution of the genus. Diversification of Chiasmocleis from other New World microhylids began during the Eocene, app. 40 mya, in forested areas, and current diversity seems to be a product of recurrent connections between the Atlantic Forest and Amazonia. Small-sized species evolved independently three times …

On Neglected Taxa: Protostomes And The Evolution Of Myelination, Michaella P. Andrade, Charles Morphy D. Santos

Animal Sentience

Understanding the evolution of nervous and sensory systems in animals is key to understanding the distribution of animal sentience. However, the use of model organisms – mostly vertebrates, and especially mammals – often biases comparative analyses. Sneddon et al. (2018a,b) point out that using nonhuman animals as models helps us better understand the multifaceted aspects of animal pain and sentience. Several concerns need to be considered in dealing with model organisms. Here we discuss how models that are unrepresentative phylogenetically influence hypotheses about the evolution of the myelination in animals. Greater effort is needed to escape “vertebrate-centrism” in evolutionary research.

Novel Information On The Morphology, Phylogeny And Distribution Of Camallanid Mematodes From Marine And Freshwater Hosts In South Africa, Including The Description Of Camallanus Sodwanaensis N. Sp., Roman Svitin, Marliese Truter, Olena Kudlai, Nico J. Smit, Louis Du Preez

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Four species of previously known nematodes from the family Camallanidae were found from different hosts in South Africa: Batrachocamallanus xenopodis from the frog Xenopus muelleri, Paracamallanus cyathopharynx, and Procamallanus pseudolaeviconchus from the catfish Clarias gariepinus and Spirocamallanus daleneae from the catfish Synodontis zambezensis. In the material collected from various marine fishes, several specimens of nematodes from the genus Camallanus clearly differed from all previously known species. Based on morphological differences these specimens are assigned to a new species, C. sodwanaensis. Molecular data of 18S and 28S rDNA and COI sequences are provided for the collected species …

Horse Y Chromosome Assembly Displays Unique Evolutionary Features And Putative Stallion Fertility Genes, Jan E. Janečka, Brian W. Davis, Sharmila Ghosh, Nandina Paria, Pranab J. Das, Ludovic Orlando, Mikkel Schubert, Martin K. Nielsen, Tom A. E. Stout, Wesley Brashear, Gang Li, Charles D. Johnson, Richard P. Metz, Al Muatasim Al Zadjali, Charles C. Love, Dickson D. Varner, Daniel W. Bellott, William J. Murphy, Bhanu P. Chowdhary, Terje Raudsepp

Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Dynamic evolutionary processes and complex structure make the Y chromosome among the most diverse and least understood regions in mammalian genomes. Here, we present an annotated assembly of the male specific region of the horse Y chromosome (eMSY), representing the first comprehensive Y assembly in odd-toed ungulates. The eMSY comprises single-copy, equine specific multi-copy, PAR transposed, and novel ampliconic sequence classes. The eMSY gene density approaches that of autosomes with the highest number of retained X–Y gametologs recorded in eutherians, in addition to novel Y-born and transposed genes. Horse, donkey and mule testis RNAseq reveals several candidate genes for stallion …

Computational Analysis Of Papionini Evolution Using Alu Insertions, Vallmer Edward Jordan Ii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Alu elements are primate specific retrotransposons that have remained active throughout the course of primate evolution. As a result of this sustained mobilization. Alu elements are present in greater copy number in primate genomes than any other transposable element. An average of over one million Alu elements has been identified in every sequenced haplorrhine genome to date. These characteristics qualify Alu elements as ideal characters for studying evolutionary relationship among primates.

The increasing availability of whole genome sequencing data presents novel challenges and opportunities for comparative genomic analyses. Genomic data is now publicly available for most primate species. Such an …

On The Relationship Between Phylogenetic Diversity And Trait Diversity, Caroline M. Tucker, T. Jonathan Davies, Marc W. Cadotte, William D. Pearse

Biology Faculty Publications

Niche differences are key to understanding the distribution and structure of biodiversity. To examine niche differences, we must first characterize how species occupy niche space, and two approaches are commonly used in the ecological literature. The first uses species traits to estimate multivariate trait space (so‐called functional trait diversity, FD); the second quantifies the amount of time or evolutionary history captured by a group of species (phylogenetic diversity, PD). It is often—but controversially—assumed that these putative measures of niche space are at a minimum correlated and perhaps redundant, since more evolutionary time allows for greater accumulation of trait changes. This …

Phylogeny Of The Orangethroat Darter (Etheostoma Spectabile) Species Complex In The Ozark Highlands Of Arkansas, Mckenna George

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Darters are small, benthic fishes that live in freshwater rivers and streams and belong to the family Percidae. Pleistocene glaciations fragmented many darter species, resulting in speciation, but new species are often hard to detect if they are morphologically identical to pre-existing species. Intraspecific hybridization and resulting introgression, which occur frequently in glaciated areas, further complicate identification by introducing heterospecific genomes into mitochondrial DNA, making it difficult to accurately resolve phylogenetic relationships. The results of Bossu and Near’s 2009 study highlight this issue, showing a large degree of incongruence between mitochondrial and nuclear gene trees.

This study analyzed samples from …

Redescription And Phylogenetic Analysis Of The Materials Assigned To The Taxon "Captorhinikos" Chozaensis, Jason Paul Jung

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

“Captorhinikos” chozaensis is a multiple-tooth-rowed captorhinid reptile from the Lower Permian Clear Fork Group, undivided formation. Upon re-examination of the materials associated with the species from both the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian United States National Museum, I reaffirm their affinity and collective identity as a valid taxon. “Captorhinikos” chozaensis does not, however, belong with either of the two members of its genus, C. valensis or “C.” parvus, instead occupying its own branch on the phylogenetic tree of the Captorhinidae. This conclusion is based in strong results from a combined phylogenetic parsimony analysis combined with …

New Classification Of The Dictyostelids, Sanea Sheikh, Mats Thulin, James C. Cavender, Ricardo Escalante, Shin-Ichi Kawakami, Carlos Lado, John C. Landolt, Vidyanand Nanjundiah, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann, Frederick W. Spiegel, Steven L. Stephenson, Eduardo M. Vadell, Sandra L. Baldauf

Biology Faculty Research

Traditional morphology-based taxonomy of dictyostelids is rejected by molecular phylogeny. A new classification is presented based on monophyletic entities with consistent and strong molecular phylogenetic support and that are, as far as possible, morphologically recognizable. All newly named clades are diagnosed with small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) sequence signatures plus morphological synapomorphies where possible. The two major molecular clades are given the rank of order, as Acytosteliales ord. nov. and Dictyosteliales. The two major clades within each of these orders are recognized and given the rank of family as, respectively, Acytosteliaceae and Cavenderiaceae fam. nov. in Acytosteliales, and Dictyosteliaceae …

Gain-Of-Function Experiments With Bacteriophage Lambda Uncover Residues Under Diversifying Selection In Nature, Rohan Maddamsetti, Daniel T. Johnson, Stephanie J. Spielman, Katherine L. Petrie, Debora S. Marks, Justin R. Meyer

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Viral gain-of-function mutations frequently evolve during laboratory experiments. Whether the specific mutations that evolve in the lab also evolve in nature and whether they have the same impact on evolution in the real world is unknown. We studied a model virus, bacteriophage λ, that repeatedly evolves to exploit a new host receptor under typical laboratory conditions. Here, we demonstrate that two residues of λ’s J protein are required for the new function. In natural λ variants, these amino acid sites are highly diverse and evolve at high rates. Insertions and deletions at these locations are associated with phylogenetic patterns indicative …

Mode And Rate Of Evolution Of Haemosporidian Mitochondrial Genomes: Timing The Radiation Of Avian Parasites, M. Andreína Pacheco, Nubia E. Matta, Gediminas Valkiūnas, Patricia G. Parker, Beatriz Mello, Craig E. Stanley Jr., Miguel Lentino, Maria Alexandra Garcia-Amado, Michael Cranfield, Sergei L. Kosakovsky Pond, Ananias A. Escalante

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Haemosporidians are a diverse group of vector-borne parasitic protozoa that includes the agents of human malaria; however, most of the described species are found in birds and reptiles. Although our understanding of these parasites’ diversity has expanded by analyses of their mitochondrial genes, there is limited information on these genes’ evolutionary rates. Here, 114 mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) were studied from species belonging to four genera: Leucocytozoon, Haemoproteus, Hepatocystis, and Plasmodium. Contrary to previous assertions, the mtDNA is phylogenetically informative. The inferred phylogeny showed that, like the genus Plasmodium, the Leucocytozoon and Haemoproteus genera are not monophyletic groups. Although …

Mitochondrial Phylogenomics Of Hemiptera Reveals Adaptive Innovations Driving The Diversification Of True Bugs, Hu Li, John Moeller Leavengood Jr., Eric G. Chapman, Daniel Burkhardt, Fan Song, Pei Jiang, Jinpeng Liu, Xuguo Zhou, Wanzhi Cai

Entomology Faculty Publications

Hemiptera, the largest non-holometabolous order of insects, represents approximately 7% of metazoan diversity. With extraordinary life histories and highly specialized morphological adaptations, hemipterans have exploited diverse habitats and food sources through approximately 300 Myr of evolution. To elucidate the phylogeny and evolutionary history of Hemiptera, we carried out the most comprehensive mitogenomics analysis on the richest taxon sampling to date covering all the suborders and infraorders, including 34 newly sequenced and 94 published mitogenomes. With optimized branch length and sequence heterogeneity, Bayesian analyses using a site-heterogeneous mixture model resolved the higher-level hemipteran phylogeny as (Sternorrhyncha, (Auchenorrhyncha, (Coleorrhyncha, Heteroptera))). Ancestral character …