A Taxonomic Review of the Genus Platydema Laporte and Brulle in Korea (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Diaperinae)

Taxanomic review of Korean Platydema Laporte and Brulle of tribe Diaperini in Tenebrionidae is presented. Eight species including P. marseuli Lewis, 1894 recorded newly in Korea are described here. We provide a key to Korean species, diagnoses, lists of feeding fungi and photos for them.     

Taxonomic Review of the Tribe Ulomini (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) in Korea

The tribe Ulomini of Korean Tenebrionidae is reviewed taxonomically. Korean Ulomini recorded to three genera and six species, Cneocnemis laminipes Gebien, Uloma marseuli Nakane, U. latimanus Kolbe, U. excisa Nakane, U. bonzica Marseul, Eutochia lateralis (Boheman). We have found that U. exciza was misidentified U. bonzica, and E. lateralis was not distributed in Korea as the result of this study. We confirm that two genera and four species are distributed in Korea. A key to diagnosis of the genera and species, and figures of these species are presented.     

Taxonomic revision of the tribe Zoraidini (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Derbidae) from Korea

The Korean planthopper tribe Zoraidini is revised taxonomically. Five genera are recognized in the Korean fauna: Diostrombus Uhler, 1896, Losbanosia Muir, 1917, Pamendanga Distant, 1906, Shirakiana Metcalf, 1945, Zoraida Kirkaldy, 1900. Among them, the genus Shirakiana is recorded for the first time in Korea. Nine species, four of which are recognized new to Korea: S. infumata (Matsumura), Z. koannania Matsumura, Z. hubeiensis Chou et Huang, and Z. kuwayamae (Matsumura). Previous record of one species, Z. pterophoroides (Westwood, 1851), is removed from the list of Korean fauna because it was erroneously reported, based on a misidentification. All species are described and illustrated, and identification keys to genera and species are provided.     

Taxonomy of the Cidariini (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) in Korea (II)

Eight genera and 16 species of the Korean Cidariini, a tribe of Larentiinae (Lepidoptera, Geometridae), were revised: Dysstroma Hübner, Paradysstroma Choi, Callabraxas Butler, Thera Stephens, Heterothera Inoue, Pennithera Viidalepp, Polythrena Guenée and Xenortholitha Inoue. Pennithera comis (Butler) was newly added to the Korean fauna. Diagnostic and phylogenetic characters supporting the monophyly of the genera and a key to the genera were provided. For the species, diagnoses with figures of male and female genitalia and distributional data with maps in Korea, and taxonomic remarks were provided.     

Phylogeny,classification and evolution of the water scavenger beetle tribe Hydrobiusini inferred from morphology and molecules (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae: Hydrophilinae)

The water scavenger beetle tribe Hydrobiusini contains 47 species in eight genera distributed worldwide. Most species of the tribe are aquatic, although several species are known to occur in waterfalls or tree mosses. Some members of the tribe are known to communicate via underwater stridulation. While recent morphological and molecular‐based phylogenies have affirmed the monophyly of the tribe as currently circumscribed, doubts remain about the monophyly of included genera. Here we use morphological and molecular data to infer a species‐level phylogeny of the Hydrobiusini. The monophyly of the tribe is decisively supported, as is the monophyly of most genera. The genus Hydrobius was found to be polyphyletic, and as a result the genus Limnohydrobius stat. rev. is removed from synonymy with Hydrobius, yielding three new combinations: L. melaenus comb.n. , L. orientalis comb.n. , and L. tumbius comb.n. Recent changes to the species‐level taxonomy of Hydrobius are reviewed. The morphology of the stridulatory apparatus has undergone a single remarkable transformation within the lineage, from a simple, unmodified pars stridens to one that is highly organized and complex. We present an updated key to genera, revised generic diagnoses and a list of the known distributions for all species within the tribe.     

Taxonomic review of the tribe Anthocoptini (Acari: Eriophyidae) from Korea

Tribe Anthocoptini (Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) from Korea was reviewed. A total of eight species in the tribe were presented, among them, four species, Abacarus hystrix (Nalepa), Aculus fockeui (Nalepa and Trouessart), Aculus schlechtendali (Nalepa) and Tegolophus zizyphagus (Keifer) were newly recorded to the fauna. All the Korean species of the tribe were redescribed and illustrated. Keys to the Korean species of the tribe and distributions were also presented with the biological information such as host plants and damage symptoms.     

Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the cocosoid palms (Arecaceae,Arecoideae, Cocoseae) inferred from sequences of six WRKY gene family loci

Arecaceae tribe Cocoseae is the most economically important tribe of palms, including both coconut and African oil palm. It is mostly represented in the Neotropics, with one and two genera endemic to South Africa and Madagascar, respectively. Using primers for six single copy WRKY gene family loci, we amplified DNA from 96 samples representing all genera of the palm tribe Cocoseae as well as outgroup tribes Reinhardtieae and Roystoneae. We compared parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML), and Bayesian (B) analysis of the supermatrix with three species‐tree estimation approaches. Subtribe Elaeidinae is sister to the Bactridinae in all analyses. Within subtribe Attaleinae, Lytocaryum, previously nested in Syagrus, is now positioned by MP and ML as sister to the former, with high support; B maintains Lytocaryum embedded within Syagrus. Both MP and ML resolve Cocos as sister to Syagrus; B positions Cocos as sister to Attalea. Bactridineae is composed of two sister clades, Bactris and Desmoncus in one, for which there is morphological support, and a second comprising Acrocomia, Astrocaryum, and Aiphanes. Two B and one ML gene tree‐species estimation approaches are incongruent with the supermatrix in a few critical intergeneric clades, but resolve the same infrageneric relationships. The biogeographic history of the Cocoseae is dominated by dispersal events. The tribe originated in the late Cretaceous in South America. Evaluated together, the supermatrix and species tree analyses presented in this paper provide the most accurate picture of the evolutionary history of the tribe to date, with more congruence than incongruence among the various methodologies.     

Phylogeny,Species Richness,and Ecological Specialization in Cyperaceae Tribe Cariceae

Cyperaceae tribe Cariceae is characterized by both species richness and habitat diversity, making it an ideal system to study ecological specialization and niche differentiation. We present a phylogenetic hypothesis for the tribe based on nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequence comparisons (ETS-1f, ITS, trnL intron, trnL-trnF intergenic spacer) for 140 representative species from five continents, and use this hypothesis to suggest patterns of both niche conservatism and niche differentiation, particularly within the large subgenus Carex. We identify a new major clade, comprising forest species of East Asian Carex section Siderostictae (subgenus Carex) as sister to the rest of tribe Cariceae. Within Carex subgenus Carex, species tolerant of water-saturated habitats occur in only a few, apparently derived groups, with varying species richness. Clades of predominantly wetland species tend to have broad geographic distribution, often with sister species on different continents, suggesting recent dispersal. In contrast, species within several clades are predominantly forest specialists with distinct Asian and North American lineages. Niche segregation along environmental gradients, such as soil moisture or acidity, is quite common among closely related wetland species, but more difficult to demonstrate within upland forest groups. More complete sampling of species within both wetland and forest groups, combined with comparable sampling of environmental preferences and testing against null models, will be needed for more rigorous exploration of the observed patterns.     

A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of tiger beetles (Coleoptera,Carabidae, Cicindelinae)

Tiger beetles are a remarkable group that captivates amateur entomologists, taxonomists and evolutionary biologists alike. This diverse clade of beetles comprises about 2300 currently described species found across the globe. Despite the charisma and scientific interest of this lineage, remarkably few studies have examined its phylogenetic relationships with large taxon sampling. Prior phylogenetic studies have focused on relationships within cicindeline tribes or genera, and none of the studies have included sufficient taxon sampling to conclusively examine broad species patterns across the entire subfamily. Studies that have attempted to reconstruct higher‐level relationships of Cicindelinae have yielded conflicting results. Here, we present the first taxonomically comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Cicindelinae to date, with the goal of creating a framework for future studies focusing on this important insect lineage. We utilized all available published molecular data, generating a final concatenated dataset including 328 cicindeline species, with molecular data sampled from six protein‐coding gene fragments and three ribosomal gene fragments. Our maximum‐likelihood phylogenetic inferences recover Cicindelinae as sister to the wrinkled bark beetles of the subfamily Rhysodinae. This new phylogenetic hypothesis for Cicindelinae contradicts our current understanding of tiger beetle phylogenetic relationships, with several tribes, subtribes and genera being inferred as paraphyletic. Most notably, the tribe Manticorini is recovered nested within Platychilini including the genera Amblycheila Say, Omus Eschscholtz, Picnochile Motschulsky and Platychile Macleay. The tribe Megacephalini is recovered as paraphyletic due to the placement of the monophyletic subtribe Oxycheilina as sister to Cicindelini, whereas the monophyletic Megacephalina is inferred as sister to Oxycheilina, Cicindelini and Collyridini. The tribe Collyridini is paraphyletic with the subtribes Collyridina and Tricondylina in one clade, and Ctenostomina in a second one. The tribe Cicindelini is recovered as monophyletic although several genera are inferred as para‐ or polyphyletic. Our results provide a novel phylogenetic framework to revise the classification of tiger beetles and to encourage the generation of focused molecular datasets that will permit investigation of the evolutionary history of this lineage through space and time.     

Two coastal Athetini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) species new to Korea

Two coastal species in the tribe Athetini, Osakatheta yasukoae Maruyama, Klimaszewski and Gusarov, and Psammostiba hilleri (Weise), are newly discovered from the Korean fauna. Diagnoses, habitus photographs and line drawings of median lobe are provided.     

Phylogenetic relationships within the tribe Janieae (Corallinales,Rhodophyta) based on molecular and morphological data: a reappraisal of Jania1

Generic boundaries among the genera Cheilosporum, Haliptilon, and Jania—currently referred to the tribe Janieae (Corallinaceae, Corallinales, Rhodophyta)—were reassessed. Phylogenetic relationships among 42 corallinoidean taxa were determined based on 26 anatomical characters and nuclear SSU rDNA sequence data for 11 species (with two duplicate plants) referred to the tribe Corallineae and 15 species referred to the tribe Janieae (two species of Cheilosporum, seven of Haliptilon, and six of Jania, with five duplicate plants). Results from our approach were consistent with the hypothesis that the tribe Janieae is monophyletic. Our data indicate, however, that Jania and Haliptilon as currently delimited are not monophyletic, and that Cheilosporum should not be recognized as an independent genus within the Janieae. Our data resolved two well‐supported biogeographic clades for the included Janieae, an Indian‐Pacific clade and a temperate North Atlantic clade. Among anatomical characters, reproductive structures reflected the evolution of the Janieae. Based on our results, three genera, Cheilosporum, Haliptilon, and Jania, should be merged into a single genus, with Jania having nomenclatural priority. We therefore propose new combinations where necessary of some species previously included in Cheilosporum and Haliptilon.