Molecular phylogeny of the scincid lizards of New Caledonia and adjacent areas: evidence for a single origin of the endemic skinks of Tasmantis

We use approximately 1900bp of mitochondrial (ND2) and nuclear (c-mos and Rag-1) DNA sequence data to recover phylogenetic relationships among 58 species and 26 genera of Eugongylus group scincid lizards from New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island, New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea. Taxon sampling for New Caledonian forms was nearly complete. We find that the endemic skink genera occurring on New Caledonia, New Zealand and Lord Howe Island, which make up the Gondwanan continental block Tasmantis, form a monophyletic group. Within this group New Zealand and New Zealand+Lord Howe Island form monophyletic clades. These clades are nested within the radiation of skinks in New Caledonia. All of the New Caledonian genera are monophyletic, except Lioscincus. The Australian and New Guinean species form a largely unresolved polytomy with the Tasmantis clade. New Caledonian representatives of the more widespread genera Emoia and Cryptoblepharus are more closely related to the non-Tasmantis taxa than to the endemic New Caledonian genera. Using ND2 sequences and the calibration estimated for the agamid Laudakia, we estimate that the diversification of the Tasmantis lineage began at least 12.7 million years ago. However, using combined ND2 and c-mos data and the calibration estimated for pygopod lizards suggests the lineage is 35.4-40.74 million years old. Our results support the hypothesis that skinks colonized Tasmantis by over-water dispersal initially to New Caledonia, then to Lord Howe Island, and finally to New Zealand.     

Diversification of New Zealand weta (Orthoptera: Ensifera: Anostostomatidae) and their relationships in Australasia

New Zealand taxa from the Orthopteran family Anostostomatidae have been shown to consist of three broad groups, Hemiandrus (ground weta), Anisoura/Motuweta (tusked weta) and Hemideina-Deinacrida (tree-giant weta). The family is also present in Australia and New Caledonia, the nearest large land masses to New Zealand. All genera are endemic to their respective countries except Hemiandrus that occurs in New Zealand and Australia. We used nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data to study within genera and among species-level genetic diversity within New Zealand and to examine phylogenetic relationships of taxa in Australasia. We found the Anostostomatidae to be monophyletic within Ensifera, and justifiably distinguished from the Stenopelmatidae among which they were formerly placed. However, the New Zealand Anostostomatidae are not monophyletic with respect to Australian and New Caledonian species in our analyses. Two of the New Zealand groups have closer allies in Australia and one in New Caledonia. We carried out maximum-likelihood and Bayesian analyses to reveal several well supported subgroupings. Our analysis included the most extensive sampling to date of Hemiandrus species and indicate that Australian and New Zealand Hemiandrus are not monophyletic. We used molecular dating approaches to test the plausibility of alternative biogeographic hypotheses for the origin of the New Zealand anostostomatid fauna and found support for divergence of the main clades at, or shortly after, Gondwanan break-up, and dispersal across the Tasman much more recently.     

Phylogenetic relationships among New Caledonian Sapotaceae (Ericales): molecular evidence for generic polyphyly and repeated dispersal

The phylogeny of a representative group of genera and species from the Sapotaceae tribe Chrysophylleae, mainly from Australia and New Caledonia, was studied by jackknife analyses of sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The phylogeny conflicts with current opinions on generic delimitation in Sapotaceae. Pouteria and Niemeyera, as presently circumscribed, are both shown to be nonmonophyletic. In contrast, all species currently assigned to these and other segregate genera confined to Australia, New Caledonia, or neighboring islands, form a supported clade. Earlier classifications in which more genera are recognized may better reflect relationships among New Caledonian taxa. Hence, there is need for a revision of generic boundaries in Chrysophylleae, and particularly within the Pouteria complex, including Leptostylis, Niemeyera, Pichonia, Pouteria pro parte (the main part of section Oligotheca), and Pycnandra. Section Oligotheca have been recognized as the separate genus Planchonella, a monophyletic group that needs to be resurrected. Three clades with strong support in our jackknife analysis have one Australian species that is sister to a relatively large group of New Caledonian endemics, suggesting multiple dispersal events between this small and isolated tropical island and Australia. The phylogeny also suggests an interesting case of a relatively recent and rapid radiation of several lineages of Sapotaceae within New Caledonia.     

Older than New Caledonia emergence? A molecular phylogenetic study of the eneopterine crickets (Orthoptera: Grylloidea)

Aim A New Caledonian insect group was studied in a world‐wide phylogenetic context to test: (1) whether local or regional island clades are older than 37 Ma, the postulated re‐emergence time of New Caledonia; (2) whether these clades show evidence for local radiations or multiple colonizations; and (3) whether there is evidence for relict taxa with long branches in phylogenetic trees that relate New Caledonian species to geographically distant taxa. Location New Caledonia, south‐west Pacific. Methods We sampled 43 cricket species representing all tribes of the subfamily Eneopterinae and 15 of the 17 described genera, focusing on taxa distributed in the South Pacific and around New Caledonia. One nuclear and three mitochondrial genes were analysed using Bayesian and parsimony methods. Phylogenetic divergence times were estimated using a relaxed clock method and several calibration criteria. Results The analyses indicate that, under the most conservative dating scenario, New Caledonian eneopterines are 5–16 million years old. The largest group in the Pacific region dates to 18–29 Ma. New Caledonia has been colonized in two phases: the first around 10.6 Ma, with the subsequent diversification of the endemic genus Agnotecous, and the second with more recent events around 1–4 Ma. The distribution of the sister group of Agnotecous and the lack of phylogenetic long branches in the genus refute an assumption of major extinction events in this clade and the hypothesis of local relicts. Main conclusions Our phylogenetic studies invalidate a simple scenario of local persistence of this group in New Caledonia since 80 Ma, either by survival on the New Caledonian island since its rift from Australia, or, if one accepts the submergence of New Caledonia, by local island‐hopping among other subaerial islands, now drowned, in the region during periods of New Caledonian submergence.     

The phylogenetic placement and biogeographical origins of the New Zealand stick insects (Phasmatodea)

The Lanceocercata are a clade of stick insects (Phasmatodea) that have undergone an impressive evolutionary radiation in Australia, New Caledonia, the Mascarene Islands and areas of the Pacific. Previous research showed that this clade also contained at least two of the nine New Zealand stick insect genera. We have constructed a phylogeny of the Lanceocercata using 2277 bp of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data to determine whether all nine New Zealand genera are indeed Lanceocercata and whether the New Zealand fauna is monophyletic. DNA sequence data were obtained from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunits I and II and the nuclear large subunit ribosomal RNA and histone subunit 3. These data were subjected to Bayesian phylogenetic inference under a partitioned model and maximum parsimony. The resulting trees show that all the New Zealand genera are nested within a large New Caledonian radiation. The New Zealand genera do not form a monophyletic group, with the genus Spinotectarchus Salmon forming an independent lineage from the remaining eight genera. We analysed Lanceocercata apomorphies to confirm the molecular placement of the New Zealand genera and to identify characters that confirm the polyphyly of the fauna. Molecular dating analyses under a relaxed clock coupled with a Bayesian extension to dispersal‐vicariance analysis was used to reconstruct the biogeographical history for the Lanceocercata. These analyses show that Lanceocercata and their sister group, the Stephanacridini, probably diverged from their South American relatives, the Cladomorphinae, as a result of the separation of Australia, Antarctica and South America. The radiation of the New Caledonian and New Zealand clade began 41.06 million years ago (mya, 29.05–55.40 mya), which corresponds to a period of uplift in New Caledonia. The main New Zealand lineage and Spinotectarchus split from their New Caledonian sister groups 33.72 (23.9–45.62 mya) and 29.9 mya (19.79–41.16 mya) and began to radiate during the late Oligocene and early Miocene, probably in response to a reduction in land area and subsequent uplift in the late Oligocene and early Miocene. We discuss briefly shared host plant patterns between New Zealand and New Caledonia. Because Acrophylla sensu Brock & Hasenpusch is polyphyletic, we have removed Vetilia Stål from synonymy with Acrophylla Gray.     

Phylogeny of Melaleuca, Callistemon, and Related Genera of the Beaufortia Suballiance (Myrtaceae) Based on 5S and ITS-1 Spacer Regions of nrDNA

A phylogenetic analysis of genera within the informal suballiance Beaufortia (family Myrtaceae), largely endemic to Australia and New Caledonia, is presented based on separate and combined data sets for 5S and ITS-1 spacer regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The two sets were not in conflict but the 5S data set was more informative. Data were analysed using conventional parsimony, jackknife parsimony, and three-item parsimony analyses. Three-item analysis gave more resolved trees than conventional parsimony analysis. The Beaufortia suballiance includes two major clades, with all Australian representatives of Callistemon (shown to be monophyletic) and most Australian representatives of Melaleuca forming one of these. The sister clade comprises a well-defined group of endemic New Caledonian taxa (classified as Callistemon and Melaleuca ), some Australian species of Melaleuca , a clade including the Western Australia/Northern Territory genera Beaufortia, Lamarchea , and Regelia , and a clade including the south-west Western Australian genera Calothamnus, Eremaea, Conothamnus , and Phymatocarpus . All molecular analyses sup port the monophyly of Conothamnus and of Regelia , genera for which a number of species were included. Three-item analysis of the combined data set supports the monophyly of Beaufortia . The findings have implications for both taxonomy and biogeography.     

Evolution and phylogeny of the New Zealand cicada genus Kikihia Dugdale (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae) with special reference to the origin of the Kermadec and Norfolk Islands' species

Aim Determine the phylogeny and dispersal patterns of the cicada genus Kikihia in New Zealand and the origin of the Norfolk, Kermadec, and Chatham Island cicadas. Location New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Kermadec Islands and Chatham Island. Methods DNA sequences from 16 species and four soon to be described species of cicadas from New Zealand and Norfolk Island (Australia) were examined. A total of 1401 base pairs were analysed from whole genome extraction of three mitochondrial genes (cytochrome oxidase subunit II, ATPase6 and ATPase8). These DNA sequences were aligned and analysed using standard likelihood approaches to phylogenetic analysis. Dates of divergences between clades were determined using a molecular clock based on Bayesian statistics. Results Most species in the genus Kikihia diverged between 3 and 5 million years ago (Ma) coincident with a period of rapid mountain building in New Zealand. Cicada species on the Kermadec and Norfolk Islands invaded recently from New Zealand and are closely related to the New Zealand North Island species Kikihia cutora. Main conclusions Speciation in the genus Kikihia was likely due in large part to the appearance of new habitats associated with the rise of the Southern Alps, starting c. 5 Ma. Dispersal of Kikihia species within mainland New Zealand probably occurred gradually rather than through long‐distance jumps. However, invasion of Norfolk, the Kermadecs and Chatham Islands had to have occurred through long‐distance dispersal.     

Frugivore gape size and the evolution of fruit size and shape in southern hemisphere floras

Abstract The present study uses differences among frugivore faunas of the southern hemisphere landmasses to test whether frugivore characteristics have influenced the evolution of fruit traits. Strong floristic similarities exist among southern landmasses; for example, 75% of New Zealand vascular plant genera also have species in Australia. However, plants in Australia and South America have evolved in the presence of a range of mammalian frugivores, whereas those in New Zealand, New Caledonia and the Pacific Islands have not. In addition, the avian frugivores in New Zealand and New Caledonia are generally smaller than those of Australia. If frugivore characteristics have influenced the evolution of fruit traits, predictable differences should exist between southern hemisphere fruits, particularly fruit size and shape. Fruit dimensions were measured for 77 New Zealand species and 31 Australian species in trans‐Tasman genera. New Zealand fruits became significantly more ellipsoid in shape with increasing size. This is consistent with frugivore gape size imposing a selective pressure on fruit ingestability. This result is not a product of phylogenetic correlates, as fruit length and width scaled isometrically for Australian species in genera shared with New Zealand. Within‐genus contrasts between New Zealand and Australian species in 20 trans‐Tasman genera showed that New Zealand species have significantly smaller fruits than their Australian counterparts. Within‐genus contrasts between New Zealand and South American species in nine genera gave the same result; New Zealand species had significantly smaller fruits than their South American counterparts. No difference was found in fruit size or shape between New Zealand and New Caledonia congeneric species from 12 genera. These results are consistent with the broad characteristics of the frugivore assemblage influencing the evolution of fruit size and shape in related species. The smaller‐sized New Zealand frugivore assemblage has apparently influenced the evolution of fruit size of colonizing taxa sometimes within a relatively short evolutionary timeframe.     

A molecular phylogeny of New Zealand's Petroica (Aves: Petroicidae) species based on mitochondrial DNA sequences

The New Zealand robin (Petroica australis), tomtit (P. macrocephala), and Chatham Island black robin (P. traversi) are members of the Petroicidae family of Australo-Papuan robins, found throughout Australasia and the western Pacific. In the nearly 200 years since the New Zealand members of Petroicidae were first described, the division of species, subspecies, and even genera has undergone many changes. In this study, we investigate whether molecular phylogenies based on mitochondrial DNA sequences support current taxonomic classifications based on morphology. Petroica traversi, P. australis, and P. macrocephala form distinct clades in phylogenetic trees constructed from Cytochrome b and control region sequences, however the position of the black robin is at odds with the morphological and behavioral data. The black robin does not appear to be a derivative of the New Zealand robin, instead it groups strongly with the tomtit, indicating that lineage sorting and/or introgressive hybridization may have occurred. There is some evidence to support the hypothesis that two invasions of Petroica from Australia have occurred, however additional data from Australian Petroica taxa are required to confirm this. Control region sequences confirm a deep split between the North and South Island P. australis lineages, but suggest a recent radiation of P. macrocephala.     

Phylogeny of the Polycentropodidae (Insecta: Trichoptera) based on protein-coding genes reveal non-monophyletic genera

We tested the previous hypotheses of the phylogenetic position and monophyly of the caddisfly family Polycentropodidae. We also tested previous hypotheses about the internal generic relationship within the family by including 15 ingroup genera, many of them also represented by the genotype. All families that were previously taxonomically associated with the polycentropodids were included in the analysis. The total data set of 2225bp representing sequences of combined nuclear and mitochondrial genes and 171 taxa, was analyzed using Bayesian inference. We found strong support for a monophyletic Polycentropodidae with Ecnomidae as the closest sister group. The recently erected families Kambaitipsychidae and Pseudoneureclipsidae were monophyletic and distantly related to the Polycentropodidae. Within Polycentropodidae, monophyly and validity of the genera Neucentropus, Neureclipsis, Cyrnus, Holocentropus, Tasmanoplegas, Pahamunaya, Cernotina and Cyrnellus was strongly supported, while the genera Polycentropus, Polyplectropus, Plectrocnemia, Placocentropus and Nyctiophylax were all polyphyletic. The New Caledonian species were polyphyletic and represented three distinct clades. The sister group to the New Caledonian clades are from Australia, New Zealand and Chile, respectively. The Vanuatu species evolved after dispersal from the Fiji Islands. New internal primers for cytochrome oxidase I sequences of Trichoptera are introduced.     

Molecular dating of the 'Gondwanan' plant family Proteaceae is only partially congruent with the timing of the break-up of Gondwana

Aim  The flowering plant family Proteaceae is putatively of Gondwanan age, with modern and fossil lineages found on all southern continents. Here we test whether the present distribution of Proteaceae can be explained by vicariance caused by the break-up of Gondwana.
Location  Africa, especially southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Southeast Asia, Sulawesi, Tasmania.
Methods  We obtained chloroplast DNA sequence data from the rbc L gene, the rbc L- atp B spacer, and the atp B gene from leaf samples of forty-five genera collected from the field and from living collections. We analysed these data using Bayesian phylogenetic and molecular dating methods, with five carefully selected fossil calibration points to obtain age estimates for the nodes within the family.
Results  Four of eight trans-continental disjunctions of sister groups within our sample of the Proteaceae post-date the break-up of Gondwana. These involve independent lineages, two with an Africa-Australia disjunction, one with an Africa–South America disjunction, and one with a New Zealand–Australasia disjunction. The date of the radiation of the bird-pollinated Embothriinae corresponds approximately to the hypothesized date of origin of nectar-feeding birds in Australia.
Main conclusions  The findings suggest that disjunct distributions in Proteaceae result from both Gondwanan vicariance and transoceanic dispersal. Our results imply that ancestors of some taxa dispersed across oceans rather than rafting with Gondwanan fragments as previously thought. This finding agrees with other studies of Gondwanan plants in dating the divergence of Australian, New Zealand and New Caledonian taxa in the Eocene, consistent with the existence of a shared, ancestral Eocene flora but contrary to a vicariance scenario based on accepted geological knowledge.     

Major Clades of Australasian Rutoideae (Rutaceae) Based on rbcL and atpB Sequences

Background

Rutaceae subfamily Rutoideae (46 genera, c. 660 species) is diverse in both rainforests and sclerophyll vegetation of Australasia. Australia and New Caledonia are centres of endemism with a number of genera and species distributed disjunctly between the two regions. Our aim was to generate a high-level molecular phylogeny for the Australasian Rutoideae and identify major clades as a framework for assessing morphological and biogeographic patterns and taxonomy.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Phylogenetic analyses were based on chloroplast genes, rbcL and atpB, for 108 samples (78 new here), including 38 of 46 Australasian genera. Results were integrated with those from other molecular studies to produce a supertree for Rutaceae worldwide, including 115 of 154 genera. Australasian clades are poorly matched with existing tribal classifications, and genera Philotheca and Boronia are not monophyletic. Major sclerophyll lineages in Australia belong to two separate clades, each with an early divergence between rainforest and sclerophyll taxa. Dehiscent fruits with seeds ejected at maturity (often associated with myrmecochory) are inferred as ancestral; derived states include woody capsules with winged seeds, samaras, fleshy drupes, and retention and display of seeds in dehisced fruits (the last two states adaptations to bird dispersal, with multiple origins among rainforest genera). Patterns of relationship and levels of sequence divergence in some taxa, mostly species, with bird-dispersed (Acronychia, Sarcomelicope, Halfordia and Melicope) or winged (Flindersia) seeds are consistent with recent long-distance dispersal between Australia and New Caledonia. Other deeper Australian/New Caledonian divergences, some involving ant-dispersed taxa (e.g., Neoschmidia), suggest older vicariance.

Conclusions/Significance

This comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the Australasian Rutoideae gives a broad overview of the group’s evolutionary and biogeographic history. Deficiencies of infrafamilial classifications of Rutoideae have long been recognised, and our results provide a basis for taxonomic revision and a necessary framework for more focused studies of genera and species.     

Historical biogeography of Australian Rhamnaceae, tribe Pomaderreae

Aim To discover the pattern of relationships of areas of endemism for Australian genera in the plant family Rhamnaceae tribe Pomaderreae for comparison with other taxa and interpretation of biogeographical history. Location Australian mainland, Tasmania and New Zealand. Methods A molecular phylogeny and geographic distribution of species within four clades of Pomaderreae are used as a basis for recognition of areas of endemism and analysis of area relationships using paralogy‐free subtrees. The taxon phylogeny is the strict consensus tree from a parsimony analysis of 54 taxa, in four clades, and sequence data for the internal transcribed spacer regions of ribosomal DNA (ITS1‐5.8S‐ITS2) and the plastid DNA region trnL‐F. Results The biogeographical analysis identified five subtrees, which, after parsimony analysis, resulted in a minimal tree with 100% consistency and seven resolved nodes. Three sets of area relationships were identified: the areas of Arnhem and Kimberley in tropical north Australia are related based on the phylogeny of taxa within Cryptandra; the moister South‐west of Western Australia, its sister area the coastal Geraldton Sandplains, the semi‐arid Interzone region and arid Western Desert are related, based on taxa within Cryptandra, Spyridium, Trymalium and Pomaderris; and the eastern regions of Queensland, McPherson‐Macleay, south‐eastern New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, southern Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand are related based on Cryptandra, Pomaderris and Spyridium. Tasmania and NSW are related based entirely on Cryptandra, but the position of New Zealand relative to the other south‐eastern Australian regions is unresolved. Main conclusions The method of paralogy‐free subtrees identified a general pattern of geographic area relationships based on Australian Pomaderreae. The widespread distribution of clades, the high level of endemicity and the age of fossils for the family, suggest that the Pomaderreae are an old group among the Australian flora. Their biogeographical history may date to the early Palaeogene with subsequent changes through to the Pleistocene.     

Zoogeography and relationships of Australasian skates (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae)

Aim To investigate distributional patterns and derivation of skates in the Australasian realm. Location Australasia. Methods Genus‐group skate taxa were defined for this region for the first time and new systematic information, as well as bathymetric and geographical data, used to identify distribution patterns. Results The extant skate fauna of Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and adjacent subAntarctic dependencies) is highly diverse and endemic with sixty‐two species from twelve currently recognized, nominal genus‐group taxa. These include the hardnose skate (rajin) groups Anacanthobatis, Amblyraja, Dipturus, Okamejei, Rajella and Leucoraja, and softnose skate (arhynchobatin) genera Arhynchobatis, Bathyraja, Insentiraja, Irolita, Pavoraja and Notoraja. Additional new and currently unrecognized nominal taxa of both specific and supraspecific ranks also occur in the region. The subfamily Arhynchobatinae is particularly speciose in Australasia, and the New Zealand/New Caledonian fauna is dominated by undescribed supraspecific taxa and species. The Australian fauna, although well represented by arhynchobatins, is dominated by Dipturus‐like skates and shows little overlap in species composition with the fauna of New Zealand and New Caledonia. Similarly, these faunas exhibit no overlap with the polar faunas of the Australian subAntarctic dependencies (Heard and Macdonald Islands) to the south. Skates appear to be absent from the Macquarie Ridge at the southern margin of the New Zealand Plateau. Their absence off New Guinea probably reflects inadequate sampling and the subsequent poor knowledge of that region's deepwater fish fauna. Main conclusions Skates appear to have existed in the eastern, Australasian sector of Gondwana before fragmentation in the late Cretaceous. The extant fauna appears to be derived from elements of Gondwanan origin, dispersal from the eastern and western Tethys Sea, and intraregional vicariance speciation.     

Phylogenetics of scutigeromorph centipedes (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) with implications for species delimitation and historical biogeography of the Australian and New Caledonian faunas

Phylogeny of the centipede order Scutigeromorpha has received recent attention from combined analyses of molecular and morphological data. Denser generic sampling, an additional marker (12S rRNA), and multiple specimens for selected species are used to explore phylogeny, biogeography and taxonomy of this charismatic group of centipedes. Among 55 specimens/27 species analysed for six genes are the first molecular data for the genera Dendrothereua , Pilbarascutigera , and Tachythereua , and previously unsampled species of Scutigerinae from Madagascar. Sampling density is especially increased for Thereuoneminae from Australia and New Caledonia. At the base of Scutigeromorpha, the split of Pselliodidae from Scutigerinidae + Scutigeridae is favoured by the optimal parameter set in combined analyses, but most suboptimal parameter sets instead unite pselliodids and scutigerinids. Dendrothereua is re-established for a Neotropical clade that variably resolves as sister to Tachythereua or separate from Scutigerinae, grouped with Pselliodidae and Scutigerinidae. As traditionally diagnosed, the genera that comprise most of Australian and New Caledonian diversity, Allothereua and Parascutigera , are mutually polyphyletic, though they unite as a well supported clade, sister to or including the Western Australian Pilbarascutigera . The main biogeographical signal within the Allothereua / Parascutigera clade is Western Australia as sister area to eastern Australia/New Caledonia, within which New Caledonian " Parascutigera " has a single origin under optimal parameter sets. Genetic variation within scutigeromorph species is appraised using samples of Scutigera coleoptrata throughout its native distribution plus presumed synanthropic records, and from the Allothereua/Parascutigera clade. Variation between six alleged narrow-range endemic species of Parascutigera in north Queensland is consistent with a single species.     

Few genetic differences between Victorian and Western Australian blue penguins,Eudyptula minor

Abstract

Blue penguins, Eudyptula minor, breeding on Penguin Island, Western Australia are considerably larger than other blue penguins in Australia. If genetic isolation is the cause, it may have implications for the conservation status of some blue penguin populations. We compared the sequences of two mitochondrial gene regions (cytochrome‐b and the control region) from Western Australian blue penguins with other populations of blue penguins from Australia and New Zealand. We found few differences between sequences from Western Australia, Phillip Island, Victoria and Otago, New Zealand, although all three differed considerably from other New Zealand blue penguins. Sequences for the control region from the Western Australian blue penguins and 30 more birds breeding at various Australasian sites provided further support for two major clades within Eudyptula; an Australian clade (including Otago) and a New Zealand clade.     

Biological disjunction along the West Caledonian fault,New Caledonia: a synthesis of molecular phylogenetics and panbiogeography

This paper documents a newly discovered pattern of biological disjunction between NW and SE New Caledonia. The disjunction occurs in 87 (mapped) taxa, including plants, moths and lizards, and correlates spatially with the West Caledonian fault. This fault is controversial; some geologists interpret it as a major structure, others deny that it exists. It may have undergone 150–200 km of lateral movement and it is suggested that this has caused the biological disjunction by pulling populations apart. The disjunction matches similar dextral disjunctions of taxa along transform faults in New Zealand, New Guinea, California and Indonesia. Major biogeographic patterns – whether centres of diversity, boundaries of allopatric taxa or disjunctions – all include taxa with many different degrees of differentiation. Studies using a clock model of evolution will therefore interpret a biogeographic pattern as the result of many disparate events. However, this line of reasoning reaches the untenable conclusion that biogeographic patterns, including normal allopatry, are always caused by chance dispersal, never by vicariance. A more productive approach, avoiding the pitfalls of a fossil‐based molecular clock, involves a close examination of molecular clades, comparative biogeography and tectonics. The New Caledonia example documented here shows that this can lead to novel, testable predictions. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158 , 470–488.     

Historical transoceanic dispersal of a freshwater shrimp: the colonization of the South Pacific by the genus Paratya (Atyidae)

Aim To infer the phylogenetic relationships within the freshwater shrimp genus Paratya Miers, 1882 (Atyidae) and to use these data to answer biogeographical questions about the location, timing and form of evolution of this genus in the South Pacific. Location Paratya are spread throughout various freshwater habitats in the western Pacific, with a disjunct northern range in the North Pacific (Japan, Korea, Ryukyu Islands, Siberia) and South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Lord Howe, Norfolk Island). Methods Specimens were obtained from throughout its range. Mitochondrial sequences of cytochrome oxidase subunit I and 16S ribosomal DNA were analysed using phylogenetic techniques to identify whether landmasses are monophyletic and what the relationships are between landmasses. Molecular clock dating methods were used to date divergences between taxa. Results Each landmass was recovered as monophyletic. Japan/Ryukyu Islands is the most basal group, followed by New Zealand. Australian specimens form a sister group to a clade made up of two groups (New Caledonia and Lord Howe/Norfolk Island). The oldest divergence within the genus (between North and South Pacific) took place 12–19 Ma. Main conclusions The geographical origin of the genus (either Gondwana or Laurasia) is unclear. Dispersal occurred between the North and South Pacific long after the split up of Gondwana. Dispersal likely explains the presence of Paratya on each landmass in the South Pacific, from continent to isolated oceanic island. This dispersal is conjectured to have taken place through oceanic currents because of the amphidromous life cycle of some taxa of Paratya, given that amphyidromy is plesiomorphic in atyid shrimp.     

The historical biogeography of Apsilochorema (Trichoptera,Hydrobiosidae) revised,following molecular studies

The genus Apsilochorema Ulmer, 1907 is unique in the family Hydrobiosidae Ulmer, being widely distributed in the Palaearctic, Oriental and Australian Regions. All other 49 genera in the family, except the New World Atopsyche Banks, 1905, are confined to a single biogeographical Region. This unique distribution has independently stimulated researchers to formulate competing hypotheses about the biogeographical history of the genus. Molecular sequence data from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and nuclear cadherin (CAD) genes of Apsilochorema species from the Oriental and Australian areas were analysed phylogenetically. The results retain a monophyletic Apsilochorema, which forms the sistergroup to the other genera in the subfamily Apsilochorematinae. The results from the biogeographical analyses dispute the earlier assumptions of an Oriental or northern Gondwana origin for the genus, revealing unambiguously an initial Australian radiation of the ancestral Apsilochorema with a subsequent dispersal into the Oriental Region. All but one of the Apsilochorema species occurring on the Pacific islands had an Oriental ancestor. The exception is the sistergroup to the New Caledonian species, which is found in both Australia and Oriental Regions. The molecular dating analysis, using a relaxed clock model, indicates that the genus Apsilochorema is about 36.4 MY old and that it dispersed from Australia into the Oriental Region about 28.3 Ma. It also gives an estimate of the approximate ages of the dispersals into New Caledonia to about 15.3 Ma; to the Solomon Islands at about 16.2 Ma; to the Fiji Islands at about 16.1 Ma; and to the Vanuatu Islands at about 5.4 Ma.     

Biogeography of the Monimiaceae (Laurales): a role for East Gondwana and long‐distance dispersal,but not West Gondwana

Aim The biogeography of the tropical plant family Monimiaceae has long been thought to reflect the break‐up of West and East Gondwana, followed by limited transoceanic dispersal. Location Southern Hemisphere, with fossils in East and West Gondwana. Methods We use phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from 67 of the c. 200 species, representing 26 of the 28 genera of Monimiaceae, and a Bayesian relaxed clock model with fossil prior constraints to estimate species relationships and divergence times. Likelihood optimization is used to infer switches between biogeographical regions on the highest likelihood tree. Results Peumus from Chile, Monimia from the Mascarenes and Palmeria from eastern Australia/New Guinea form a clade that is sister to all other Monimiaceae. The next‐deepest split is between the Sri Lankan Hortonia and the remaining genera. The African Monimiaceae, Xymalos monospora, then forms the sister clade to a polytomy of five clades: (I) Mollinedia and allies from South America; (II) Tambourissa and allies from Madagascar and the Mascarenes; (III) Hedycarya, Kibariopsis and Leviera from New Zealand, New Caledonia and Australia; (IV) Wilkiea, Kibara, Kairoa; and (V) Steganthera and allies, all from tropical Australasia. Main conclusions Tree topology, fossils, inferred divergence times and ances‐tral area reconstruction fit with the break‐up of East Gondwana having left a still discernible signature consisting of sister clades in Chile and Australia. There is no support for previous hypotheses that the break‐up of West Gondwana (Africa/South America) explains disjunctions in the Monimiaceae. The South American Mollinedia clade is only 28–16 Myr old, and appears to have arrived via trans‐Pacific dispersal from Australasia. The clade apparently spread in southern South America prior to the Andean orogeny, fitting with its first‐diverging lineage (Hennecartia) having a southern‐temperate range. The crown ages of the other major clades (II–V) range from 20 to 29 Ma, implying over‐water dispersal between Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, and across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar and the Mascarenes. The endemic genus Monimia on the Mascarenes provides an interesting example of an island lineage being much older than the islands on which it presently occurs.