The evolutionary history of two species of Orthocladiinae (Diptera: Chironomidae) from Lake Baikal (Eastern Siberia)

The evolutionary history of two species belonging to the genus Orthocladius van der Wulp, 1874 van der Wulp, F.M. (1874), ‘Dipterologische Aanteekneningen’, Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, 17, 109–148. [Google Scholar] (Diptera: Chironomidae) from Lake Baikal was investigated using the mitochondrial gene coding the first subunit of the cytochrome c oxidase (CO1 mtDNA). The phylogenetic analysis indicated that the Baikal Orthocladius species were divided into two well-defined clades where O. (Orthocladius) gregarius Linevitsh, 1970 was a sister species to Palaearctic O. (Orthocladius) nitidoscutellatus Lundstrom, 1915 and the O. (Eudactylocladius) sp. was a sister species to Nearctic O. (Eudactylocladius) subletteorum Cranston, 1998 Сranston, P.S. (1998), ‘Nearctic Orthocladius Subgenus Eudactylocladius Revised (Diptera: Chironomidae)’, Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 71(3), 272–295.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. Divergence time estimates indicated that these species had been evolving independently for about 18 Ma (Neogene, Early Miocene), while emergence of the most recent common ancestors of the modern O. (Orthocladius) gregarius and O. (Eudactylocladius) sp. was dated to about 3.5 Ma (Neogene, Pliocene). The evolution of Baikal orthoclads occurred from the rheophilic fauna under conditions of global climate change during the geological history of the Baikal Depression in the Tertiary Period.