Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joachim Schmidt, Stephan Scholz, Juergen Wiesner, Kipling Will
Summary: The study reveals that certain insect species have a longer lifespan, with the oldest insect fossils dating back to the Oligocene and Eocene periods. Through the use of imaging techniques, researchers confirm that a century-old tiger beetle fossil belongs to an extinct ancestral lineage. Reviewing tiger beetle fossils from Cretaceous and Paleogene deposits, the study finds no evidence supporting the assignment of these fossils to current lineages. The findings are crucial in calibrating the divergence dating of beetle phylogenies.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Gustavo Silva De Miranda, Alessandro P. L. Giupponi, Nikolaj Scharff, Lorenzo Prendini
Summary: This study investigates the phylogeny and biogeography of the pantropical whip spider family Charinidae using morphology and multilocus DNA sequences. Charinidae are monophyletic, with Weygoldtia as the sister group to a monophyletic group comprising Charinus and Sarax. The divergence of Charinus and Sarax coincides with the fragmentation of Pangaea.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
William R. Conner, Emily K. Delaney, Michael J. Bronski, Paul S. Ginsberg, Timothy B. Wheeler, Kelly M. Richardson, Brooke Peckenpaugh, Kevin J. Kim, Masayoshi Watada, Ary A. Hoffmann, Michael B. Eisen, Artyom Kopp, Brandon S. Cooper, Michael Turelli
Summary: The Drosophila montium species group consists of 94 named species closely related to D. melanogaster, distributed widely across Asia, Africa, and Australasia. Genomic data from 42 species were used to estimate phylogeny, relative divergence times, and support monophyly within the group. However, age estimates for the montium crown group compared to D. melanogaster remain uncertain.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Oksana V. Vernygora, Carlos Congrains, Scott M. Geib, Julian R. Dupuis
Summary: In this study, a flexible and user-friendly tool called HiMAP2 is introduced for identifying, visualizing, and filtering phylogenetically informative loci from diverse genomic and transcriptomic resources. The tool includes features such as orthology prediction, exon extraction, and filtering of aligned exon sequences based on user-defined specifications. Additionally, HiMAP2 enables exploration of the final filtered exons through phylogenetic inference and species tree estimation. The results of marker selection can be visualized and refined using an interactive Bokeh application to generate publication-quality figures.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Abdullah S. Gohar, Mohammed S. Antar, Robert W. Boessenecker, Dalia A. Sabry, Sanaa El-Sayed, Erik R. Seiffert, Iyad S. Zalmout, Hesham M. Sallam
Summary: This study reports a new medium-sized protocetid, Phiomicetus anubis gen. et sp. nov., discovered in the middle Eocene (Lutetian) of the Fayum Depression in Egypt. The unique features of its skull and mandible suggest a more efficient oral mechanical processing capacity. Phylogenetic analysis places Phiomicetus as the most basal known protocetid from Africa.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Jeferson Carneiro, Iracilda Sampaio, Jose de S. e Silva, Antonio Martins, Izeni Farias, Tomas Hrbek, Jean Boubli, Horacio Schneider
Summary: Pitheciines have unique dental adaptations that allow them to eat fruits with hard pericarps, making them important seed predators. A review of the Chiropotes genus reveals that there are five species which likely originated in the Rondonia and Tapajos regions of the Amazon. The speciation events within Chiropotes were likely influenced by the radiation and founder effects associated with the formation of the Amazonian basins.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lian-Sheng Xu, You-Sheng Chen
Summary: Dubyaea DC. is a small genus of Asteraceae endemic to the Pan-Himalayan region, with poorly understood phylogenetic relationships. Results showed Dubyaea can be divided into three major clades, with biogeographic analyses indicating its late Miocene origin in the Hengduan Mountains and subsequent diversification in situ as well as spread to the Himalayas.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Julian Brown, Saul A. Cunningham
Summary: This study examines the dependency of native bee species on ancient Australian plant lineages in the Yarra Valley landscapes of Australia. The results show that bee species that have spent more evolutionary history in Australia are more negatively impacted by the decline of ancient Australian plants, confirming the hypothesis that species with longer evolutionary history in a region are more dependent on native plants.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Josefin Stiller, Graham Short, Healy Hamilton, Norah Saarman, Sarah Longo, Peter Wainwright, Greg W. Rouse, W. Brian Simison
Summary: By sampling ultraconserved elements and taxon, we reconstructed the phylogeny of syngnathids and discovered previously overlooked species diversity and significant biogeographic patterns. The changes in diversification rates suggest possible links to declining global temperatures, the separation of the Atlantic and Pacific faunas, and associated environmental changes.
Review
Zoology
Zhe Zhao, Zhong-E Hou, Shu-Qiang Li
Summary: This study reviews the influence of tectonic evolution in the Tethyan region on the evolution and diversity patterns of Eurasian animals. The tectonic evolution in the Tethyan region directly impacts the composition and spatial distribution of Eurasian animal diversity, as well as animal origin, dispersal, preservation, diversification, and extinction. The Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Tethyan region plays a significant role in shaping the changes in Eurasian animal distribution.
ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Dariusz L. Szlachetko, Magdalena Dudek, Aleksandra Naczk, Marta Kolanowska
Summary: This study presents a revision of the orchid genus Andinia based on morphological and molecular studies. The authors also calculated and visualized the similarity of climatic niches occupied by representatives of the Andinia-complex. The study found the highest number of Andinia representatives in the Eastern Cordillera real montane forests, and identified unique orchid flora in the Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub ecoregion. The proposed classification recognizes nine genera within the Andinia-complex and provides a key to their identification.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Flavien Collart, Jian Wang, Jairo Patino, Anders Hagborg, Lars Soderstrom, Bernard Goffinet, Nicolas Magain, Olivier J. Hardy, Alain Vanderpoorten
Summary: The study reveals that changes in the phylogenetic composition among liverwort floras across the globe are primarily shaped by macroclimatic variation, rather than geographic distance. Macroclimatic niche conservatism plays a significant role in constraining the distribution of liverworts over evolutionary time scales.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicole M. Foley, Victor C. Mason, Andrew J. Harris, Kevin R. Bredemeyer, Joana Damas, Harris A. Lewin, Eduardo Eizirik, John Gatesy, Elinor K. Karlsson, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Zoonomia Consortium Zoonomia Consortium, Mark S. Springer, William J. Murphy
Summary: We conducted a comprehensive analysis of 241 placental mammal genome assemblies, providing a deeper understanding of the speciation events and evolution patterns of these mammals. Our analysis revealed low rates of conflict in interordinal relationships across different datasets and methods, while conflicts between X-chromosomes and autosomes characterized multiple independent clades that emerged during the Cenozoic era. Furthermore, our genomic time trees suggest that important speciation events occurred before and after the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, indicating the significance of continental vicariance and the K-Pg extinction event in the placental radiation.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Haijun Bai, Jinrui Zhang, Christopher H. Dietrich, Yiping Li, Xiangqun Yuan
Summary: Complete mitochondrial genomes were sequenced for eight species of Centrotinae, including four new genera. The newly sequenced mitogenomes showed similarities in structure, gene order, and composition to previously sequenced species. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed previous findings based on morphology and nuclear genome data, except for the monophyly of Leptocentrini. These results demonstrate the informativeness of mitogenome sequences in understanding divergence patterns within Centrotinae.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sebastian Hofman, Robert A. D. Cameron, Malgorzata Prockow, Ioan Sirbu, Artur Osikowski, Aleksandra Jaszczynska, Magdalena Sokol, Andrzej Falniowski
Summary: This study investigated the phylogeny and phylogeography of Fruticicola fruticum using mitochondrial and nuclear markers, revealing three distinct species that likely diverged in southern European refugia during the ice age. Significant genetic diversity differences were found between these species, but no association between geographic distance and genetic variation within each species.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2022)