Phylogeny of the water strider genus Rheumatobates (Heteroptera: Gerridae)

The genus Rheumatobates comprises thirty‐seven species and subspecies of New World water striders belonging to subfamily Rhagadotarsinae. Among species, males vary dramatically in the degree and nature of modifications of the antennae, three pairs of legs and abdominal and genital segments. Characters describing this modification have traditionally been used to differentiate and group species. The general assumption has been that modified species belong to one group and unmodified species to another. These two ‘species groups’ are subdivided into ‘subgroups’, but little effort has been made to resolve relationships among them. We conduct the first numerical cladistic analysis of Rheumatobates using a data set comprised of 102 characters, primarily describing modification of male external morphology. To address concerns about the inclusion of characters to be optimized on the phylogeny, characters describing modification of antennae and hind legs were included and then excluded in separate analyses. A preferred phylogeny was chosen from the four equally parsimonious cladograms found after successive reweighting of characters. There was good resolution at all levels of the phylogeny. Most of the major clades and terminal relationships were moderately to strongly supported, whereas the basal relationships were less well supported. The general assumption that unmodified and modified species form two monophyletic groups was not supported. However, traditionally recognized ‘subgroups’ within the modified species group were largely upheld. The analysis also suggested several major clades and relationships among these clades that were not previously recognized. The exclusion of characters describing modification of antennae and hind legs did not change the resolved major clades of the reconstructed phylogeny.     

Phylogeny of the genus Peperomia (Piperaceae) inferred from the trnK/matK region (cpDNA)

The genus Peperomia is one of the largest genera of basal angiosperms, comprising about 1500-1700 pantropically distributed species. The currently accepted infrageneric classification divides Peperomia into nine subgenera and seven sections. This classification is based on some 200 species, primarily using fruit morphology. The monophyly of these infrageneric taxa has never been tested and molecular phylogenetic studies of a representative sampling within Peperomia do not exist. This paper provides the first molecular phylogeny for the genus Peperomia. Monophyletic clades within Peperomia are identified and previously used morphological characters are critically reviewed. We show that the importance of some morphological characters has been overestimated and that some of these characters presumably have evolved several times independently. Only one previously described subgenus has been confirmed to be monophyletic.     

Major clades of parmelioid lichens (Parmeliaceae, Ascomycota) and the evolution of their morphological and chemical diversity

Parmelioid lichens comprise about 1500 species and have a worldwide distribution. Numerous species are widely distributed and well known, including important bioindicators for atmospheric pollution. The phylogeny and classification of parmelioid lichens has been a matter of debate for several decades. Previous studies using molecular data have helped to establish hypotheses of the phylogeny of certain clades within this group. In this study, we infer the phylogeny of major clades of parmelioid lichens using DNA sequence data from two nuclear loci and one mitochondrial locus from 145 specimens (117 species) that represent the morphological and chemical diversity in these taxa. Parmelioid lichens are not monophyletic; however, a core group is strongly supported as monophyletic, excluding Arctoparmelia and Melanelia s. str., and including Parmeliopsis and Parmelaria. Within this group, seven well-supported clades are found, but the relationships among them remain unresolved. Stochastic mapping on a MC/MCMC tree sampling was employed to infer the evolution of two morphological and two chemical traits believed to be important for the evolutionary success of these lichens, and have also been used as major characters for classification. The results suggest that these characters have been gained and lost multiple times during the diversification of parmelioid lichens.     

Out of South‐East Asia: phylogeny and biogeography of the spiny ant genus Polyrhachis Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Spiny ants (Polyrhachis Smith) are a hyper‐diverse genus of ants distributed throughout the Palaeotropics and the temperate zones of Australia. To investigate the evolution and biogeographic history of the group, we reconstructed their phylogeny and biogeography using molecular data from 209 taxa and seven genes. Our molecular data support the monophyly of Polyrhachis at the generic level and several of the 13 recognized subgenera, but not all are recovered as monophyletic. We found that Campomyrma Wheeler consists of two distinct clades that follow biogeographic affinities, that the boundaries of Hagiomyrma Wheeler are unclear depending on the analysis, that Myrma Billberg might be treated as one or two clades, and that Myrmhopla Forel is not monophyletic, as previously proposed. Our biogeographic ancestral range analyses suggest that the evolution of Polyrhachis originated in South‐East Asia, with an age of the modern crown‐group Polyrhachis of 58 Ma. Spiny ants dispersed out of South‐East Asia to Australia several times, but only once to mainland Africa around 26 Ma.     

基于28S rRNA D2序列的内茧蜂亚科的分子系统发育

首次利用同源28S rRNA D2基因序列对内茧蜂亚科Rogadinae （昆虫纲Insecta：膜翅目Hymenoptera：茧蜂科Braconidae）进行了分子系统学研究。本研究从95%～100%乙醇浸渍保存的标本中提取基因组DNA并扩增了10种内群种类和5种外群种类的28S rDNA D2片段并测序（GenBank序列号AY167645-AY167659）,利用BLAST搜索相关的同源序列, 采用了GenBank中13个种类的28S rRNA D2同源序列,然后据此进行分子分析。利用3个外群（共8个种类）和3种建树方法 (距离邻近法distance based neighbor joining, NJ; 最大俭约法maximum parsimony, MP; 和最大似然法maximum likelihood, ML)分析了内茧蜂亚科内的分子系统发育关系。结果表明,由分子数据产生的不同的分子系统树均显示内茧蜂亚科是一个单系群。内茧蜂亚科内依据形态和生物学特征的分群（族和亚族）及其系统发育关系得到部分支持。NJ、MP和ML分析结果均表明内茧蜂族Rogadini不是一个单系,而是一个并系,其余3族则得到不同程度的支持。内茧蜂族可分成2个分支：“脊茧蜂属Aleiodes+弓脉茧蜂属Arcaleiodes”和“沟内茧蜂属Canalirogas+锥齿茧蜂属Conspinaria+刺茧蜂属Spinaria+内茧蜂属Rogas”,二者不是姐妹群。脊茧蜂属Aleiodes和弓脉茧蜂属Arcaleiodes始终是姐妹群。脊茧蜂属Aleiodes是一个单系,并可分成2个姐妹分支,这与依据形态和生物学特征的亚属分群相一致。弓脉茧蜂属Arcaleiodes Chen et He,1991是一个独立的属。分支“沟内茧蜂属Canalirogas+锥齿茧蜂属Conspinaria+刺茧蜂属Spinaria+内茧蜂属Rogas”的单系性仅得到部分分子数据的支持;因形态特异（腹部成甲壳状）而列为亚族级的刺茧蜂属Spinaria,分子分析没有证实这一点。横纹茧蜂族Clinocentrini是个单系,并在内茧蜂亚科的系统发育中处于基部（原始）的位置。我们研究结果还表明,阔跗茧蜂属Yelicones和潜蛾茧蜂属Stiropius相对应的阔跗茧蜂族Yeliconini和潜蛾茧蜂族Stiropiini为2个独立的分支, 与形态和生物学的结果一致,但它们在内茧蜂亚科的系统发育的位置不明,有待今后进一步研究。     

Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family

Marine butterflyfishes (10 genera, 114 species) are conspicuously beautiful and abundant animals found on coral reefs worldwide, and are well studied due to their ecological importance and commercial value. Several phylogenies based on morphological and molecular data exist, yet a well-supported molecular phylogeny at the species level for a wide range of taxa remains to be resolved. Here we present a molecular phylogeny of the butterflyfishes, including representatives of all genera (except Parachaetodon) and at least one representative of all commonly cited subgenera of Chaetodon (except Roa sensuBlum, 1988). Genetic data were collected for 71 ingroup and 13 outgroup taxa, using two nuclear and three mitochondrial genes that total 3332 nucleotides. Bayesian inference, parsimony, and maximum likelihood methods produced a well-supported phylogeny with strong support for a monophyletic Chaetodontidae. The Chaetodon subgenera Exornator and Chaetodon were found to be polyphyletic, and the genus Amphichaetodon was not the basal sister group to the rest of the family as had been previously proposed. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of data from 5 genes resolved some clades in agreement with previous phylogenetic studies, however the topology of relationships among major butterflyfish groups differed significantly from previous hypotheses. The analysis recovered a clade containing Amphichaetodon, Coradion, Chelmonops, Chelmon, Forcipiger, Hemitaurichthys, Johnrandallia, and Heniochus. Prognathodes was resolved as the sister to all Chaetodon, as in previous hypotheses, although the topology of subgeneric clades differed significantly from hypotheses based on morphology. We use the species-level phylogeny for the butterflyfishes to resolve long-standing questions regarding the use of subgenera in Chaetodon, to reconstruct molecular rates and estimated dates of diversification of major butterflyfish clades, and to examine global biogeographic patterns.     

First molecular phylogeny of the pantropical genus Dalbergia: implications for infrageneric circumscription and biogeography

The genus Dalbergia with c. 250 species has a pantropical distribution. In spite of the high economic and ecological value of the genus, it has not yet been the focus of a species level phylogenetic study. We utilized ITS nuclear sequence data and included 64 Dalbergia species representative of its entire geographic range to provide a first phylogenetic framework of the genus to evaluate previous infrageneric classifications based on morphological data. The phylogenetic analyses performed suggest that Dalbergia is monophyletic and that it probably originated in the New World. Several clades corresponding to sections of these previous classifications are revealed. Taking into account that there is not a complete correlation between geography and phylogeny, and the estimation that the Dalbergia stem and crown clades are 40.4–43.3 mya and 3.8–12.7 mya, respectively, it is plausible that several long distance dispersal events underlie the pantropical distribution of the genus.     

Molecular phylogeny of the Australian frog genera Crinia, Geocrinia, and allied taxa (Anura: Myobatrachidae).

We present a mitochondrial gene tree for representative species of all the genera in the subfamily Myobatrachinae, with special emphasis on Crinia and Geocrinia. This group has been the subject of a number of long-standing taxonomic and phylogenetic debates. Our phylogeny is based on data from approximately 780 bp of 12S rRNA and 676 bp of ND2, and resolves a number of these problems. We confirm that the morphologically highly derived monotypic genera Metacrinia, Myobatrachus, and Arenophryne are closely related, and that Pseudophryne forms the sister group to these genera. Uperoleia and the recently described genus Spicospina are also part of this clade. Our data show that Assa and Geocrinia are reciprocally monophyletic and together they form a well-supported clade. Geocrinia is monophyletic and the phylogenetic relationships with the genus are fully resolved with two major species groups identified: G. leai, G. victoriana, and G. laevis; and G. rosea, G. alba, and G. vitellina (we were unable to sample G. lutea). We confirm that Taudactylus forms the sister group to the other myobatrachine genera, but our data are equivocal on the phylogenetic position of Paracrinia. The phylogenetic relationships among Crinia species are well resolved with strong support for a number of distinct monophyletic clades, but more data are required to resolve relationships among these major Crinia clades. Crinia tasmaniensis and Bryobatrachus nimbus form the sister clade to the rest of Crinia. Due to the lack of generic level synapomorphies for a Bryobatrachus that includes C. tasmaniensis, we synonymize Bryobatrachus with Crinia. Crinia georgiana does not form a clade distinct from other Crinia species and so our data do not support recognition of the genus Ranidella for other Crinia species. Crinia subinsignifera, C. pseudinsignifera, and C. insignifera are extremely closely related despite differences in male advertisement call. A preliminary investigation of phylogeographic substructure within C. signifera revealed significant divergence between samples from across the range of this species.     

Phylogeny of ips DeGeer species (Coleoptera: scolytidae) inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I DNA sequence

We used 766 bp of DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene to reconstruct a phylogeny for 39 of 43 Ips species, many of which are economically important bark beetles. The phylogeny was reconstructed using equally weighted and weighted parsimony. In both analyses, peripheral clades were well supported while internal clades were poorly supported. Phylogenetic analysis of translated amino acids produced a poorly resolved tree that was discordant with trees reconstructed with nucleotide sequence data. Two main conclusions are drawn about the monophyly of Ips and traditional systematic groups within Ips. First, Ips is monophyletic only when I. mannsfeldi, I. nobilis, and the concinnus and latidens species groups are excluded. The latidens group, I. mannsfeldi, and I. nobilis form a monophyletic group with 3 Orthotomicus species, while the concinnus group has a more basal position. Second, the majority of the species groups in the current classification for Ips are not monophyletic. European Ips species do not form a monophyletic group, contrary to common usage, and are dispersed on the phylogenetic tree among North American species. These results indicate that a formal systematic revision of Ips is needed.     

Phylogeny of the families Pyuridae and Styelidae (Stolidobranchiata, Ascidiacea) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences

The Order Stolidobranchiata comprises the families Pyuridae, Styelidae and Molgulidae. Early molecular data was consistent with monophyly of the Stolidobranchiata and also the Molgulidae. Internal phylogeny and relationships between Styelidae and Pyuridae were inconclusive however. In order to clarify these points we used mitochondrial and nuclear sequences from 31 species of Styelidae and 25 of Pyuridae. Phylogenetic trees recovered the Pyuridae as a monophyletic clade, and their genera appeared as monophyletic with the exception of Pyura. The Styelidae, on the other hand, appeared as a paraphyletic group split into several clades. One of them was formed by solitary oviparous species, of which the Pyuridae were a sister group. A second clade included the colonial genera Botryllus, Botrylloides and Symplegma. The remaining colonial and solitary genera formed several poorly resolved clades. One of the more species genus, Polycarpa, was shown to be polyphyletic, and the species Styela plicata grouped into two genetically distant clades suggesting the existence of two cryptic species. The internal phylogeny of Styelidae has bearings on the origin of coloniality in this family. We suggest to abandon the traditional division of colonial forms into social and compound species and use instead the categories of aggregated colonies that do not have common vascular systems, and integrated colonies, that do possess such systems. Our molecular results indicate that there have been several independent acquisitions of coloniality in the Styelidae, and that viviparity may be a pre-adaptation for a colonial life-style.     

Worldwide phylogeography of limpets of the order Patellogastropoda: molecular, morphological and palaeontological evidence

A molecular phylogeny, based on sequence data from three mitochondrial(12S rRNA, 16S rRNA and COI) genes, is presented for the Patellogastropoda,including representatives of almost all genera belonging tothe Acmaeidae, Lepetidae, Lottiidae, Nacellidae and Patellidae.For comparison, a smaller dataset of sequences from two nuclear(18S rRNA and 28S rRNA) genes is presented. The mitochondrialgene phylogeny shows considerable disagreement with earlierhypotheses derived from morphological data. The Patellidae,Nacellidae and Lepetidae are monophyletic, but the Acmaeidaeand Lottiidae are polyphyletic. The family Acmaeidae is dividedinto two clades corresponding to the subfamilies Acmaeinae andPectinodontinae, but these two do not form a clade. The Acmaeinaeare synonymized with the Lottiidae, and the Pectinodontinaeare elevated to familial rank. Our results suggest that thePatelloida profunda group (formerly assigned to the Lottiidae)is the most basal group within the Patellogastropoda. We assignthis group to a new genus, Eoacmaea, in the new family Eoacmaeidae.We used a Bayesian Markov-Chain Monte Carlo approach togetherwith the fossil record to estimate divergence times from thecombined DNA sequence data. The lineage of extant Patellogastropodais estimated to have originated as long ago as Late Jurassic.The phylogeny also suggests that the principal clades and antitropicaldistribution pattern of the Patellogastropoda formed duringthe Mesozoic to early Cenozoic, in association with the disruptionof Pangea and following the establishment and decline of thecircumglobal equatorial current. (Received 6 November 2006; accepted 19 December 2006)     

Phylogeny of the Neotropical killifish family Rivulidae (Cyprinodontiformes, Aplocheiloidei) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences

Phylogenetic relationships of 70 taxa representing 68 species of the Neotropical killifish family Rivulidae were derived from analysis of 1516 nucleotides sampled from four different segments of the mitochondrial genome: 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, cytochrome oxidase I, and cytochrome b. The basal bifurcation of Cynolebiatinae and Rivulinae (Costa, 1990a,b) is supported; however, Terranatos, Maratecoara, and Plesiolebias are rivulins, not cynolebiatins. These three genera, along with the other recognized annual rivulin genera, form a monophyletic clade. Austrofundulus, Rachovia, Renova, Terranatos, and 3 species of the genus Pterolebias, all from northeastern South America, form a monophyletic clade excluding other species of Pterolebias. Pterolebias as presently understood is clearly polyphyletic. Trigonectes and Moema are supported as sister groups but do not form a monophyletic group with the genera Neofundulus and Renova as previously proposed. The suite of adaptations necessary for an annual life history has clearly been lost several times in the course of rivulid evolution. Also revealed is a considerable increase in substitution rate in most annual lineages relative to the nonannual Rivulus species. The widespread and speciose genus Rivulus is paraphyletic, representing both basal and terminal clades within the Rivulidae. Previous hypotheses regarding the vicariant origin of Greater Antillean Rivulus species are supported. Most rivulid clades show considerable endemism; thus, detailed analysis of rivulid phylogeny and distribution will contribute robust hypotheses to the clarification of Neotropical biogeography.     

Shark tales: a molecular species-level phylogeny of sharks (Selachimorpha, Chondrichthyes)

Sharks are a diverse and ecologically important group, including some of the ocean's largest predatory animals. Sharks are also commercially important, with many species suffering overexploitation and facing extinction. However, despite a long evolutionary history, commercial, and conservation importance, phylogenetic relationships within the sharks are poorly understood. To date, most studies have either focused on smaller clades within sharks, or sampled taxa sparsely across the group. A more detailed species-level phylogeny will offer further insights into shark taxonomy, provide a tool for comparative analyses, as well as facilitating phylogenetic estimates of conservation priorities. We used four mitochondrial and one nuclear gene to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of 229 species (all eight Orders and 31 families) of sharks, more than quadrupling the number of taxon sampled in any prior study. The resulting Bayesian phylogenetic hypothesis agrees with prior studies on the major relationships of the sharks phylogeny; however, on those relationships that have proven more controversial, it differs in several aspects from the most recent molecular studies. The phylogeny supports the division of sharks into two major groups, the Galeomorphii and Squalimorphii, rejecting the hypnosqualean hypothesis that places batoids within sharks. Within the squalimorphs the orders Hexanchiformes, Squatiniformes, Squaliformes, and Pristiophoriformes are broadly monophyletic, with minor exceptions apparently due to missing data. Similarly, within Galeomorphs, the orders Heterodontiformes, Lamniformes, Carcharhiniformes, and Orectolobiformes are broadly monophyletic, with a couple of species 'misplaced'. In contrast, many of the currently recognized shark families are not monophyletic according to our results. Our phylogeny offers some of the first clarification of the relationships among families of the order Squaliformes, a group that has thus far received relatively little phylogenetic attention. Our results suggest that the genus Echinorhinus is not a squaliform, but rather related to the saw sharks, a hypothesis that might be supported by both groups sharing 'spiny' snouts. In sum, our results offer the most detailed species-level phylogeny of sharks to date and a tool for comparative analyses.     

Phylogeny and biogeography of Crinum L. (Amaryllidaceae) inferred from nuclear and limited plastid non-coding DNA sequences

The genus Crinum L. is the only pantropical genus of the Amaryllidaceae. Phylogenetic and biogeographical analyses of nrDNA ITS and plastid trnL-F sequences for all continental groups of the genus Crinum and related African genera are presented, with the genus Amaryllis used as outgroup. ITS indicates that C. baumii is more closely related to Ammocharis and Cybistetes than to Crinum sensu stricto . Three clades are resolved in Crinum s.s. One unites a monophyletic American group with tropical and North African species. The second includes all southern African species and the Australian endemic C. flaccidum . The third includes monophyletic Madagascar, Australasian and Sino-Himalayan clades, with southern African species. The trnL-F phylogeny resolves an American and an Asian/Madagscar clade, and confirms the relationship of C. flaccidum with species endemic to southern Africa. The salverform, actinomorphic perianths of subg. Crinum appear to have evolved several times in the genus from ancestors with zygomorphic perianths (subg. Codonocrinum ), thus neither subgenus is monophyletic. Biogeographical analyses place the origin of Crinum in southern Africa, as the region is optimized at all ancestral nodes in the tree topology, and in basal interior nodes of all but one of the major clades. The genus underwent three major waves of radiation corresponding to the three main clades resolved in our trees. Two entries into Australia for the genus are indicated, as are separate Sino-Himalayan and Australasian dispersal events.  © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2003, 141 , 349–363.     

The RAG-1 exon in the avian order Caprimulgiformes: phylogeny, heterozygosity, and base composition

We sequenced 2.8 kb of the RAG-1 exon for most of the extant genera in the avian order Caprimulgiformes to investigate monophyly of the order and phylogeny within the traditional families. The order is not monophyletic: the Aegothelidae (owlet-nightjars) were the sister group of the Apodiformes (swifts and hummingbirds). There was no support for the monophyly of a clade containing the remaining families of Caprimulgiformes. However, the RAG-1 data strongly supported a relationship between the Podargidae (frogmouths) and Caprimulgidae (nightjars). Within the Caprimulgidae, the Australasian genus Eurostopodus was sister to the rest of the family, which in turn was composed of four major clades, three of which were restricted to the New World and primarily to the Neotropics. The Old World caprimulgids form a monophyletic clade embedded within the New World taxa; consequently, most Old World nightjars are probably the result of a single expansion out of the Neotropics. The genus Caprimulgus was not found to be monophyletic. Several species in the Caprimulgidae have both elevated heterozygosity and high GC3 content; it is likely that these are causally related.     

Multigene Molecular Phylogeny and Biogeographic Diversification of the Earth Tongue Fungi in the Genera Cudonia and Spathularia (Rhytismatales,Ascomycota)

The family Cudoniaceae (Rhytismatales, Ascomycota) was erected to accommodate the “earth tongue fungi” in the genera Cudonia and Spathularia. There have been no recent taxonomic studies of these genera, and the evolutionary relationships within and among these fungi are largely unknown. Here we explore the molecular phylogenetic relationships within Cudonia and Spathularia using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses based on 111 collections from across the Northern Hemisphere. Phylogenies based on the combined data from ITS, nrLSU, rpb2 and tef-1α sequences support the monophyly of three main clades, the /flavida, /velutipes, and /cudonia clades. The genus Cudonia and the family Cudoniaceae are supported as monophyletic groups, while the genus Spathularia is not monophyletic. Although Cudoniaceae is monophyletic, our analyses agree with previous studies that this family is nested within the Rhytismataceae. Our phylogenetic analyses circumscribes 32 species-level clades, including the putative recognition of 23 undescribed phylogenetic species. Our molecular phylogeny also revealed an unexpectedly high species diversity of Cudonia and Spathularia in eastern Asia, with 16 (out of 21) species-level clades of Cudonia and 8 (out of 11) species-level clades of Spathularia. We estimate that the divergence time of the Cudoniaceae was in the Paleogene approximately 28 Million years ago (Mya) and that the ancestral area for this group of fungi was in Eastern Asia based on the current data. We hypothesize that the large-scale geological and climatic events in Oligocene (e.g. the global cooling and the uplift of the Tibetan plateau) may have triggered evolutionary radiations in this group of fungi in East Asia. This work provides a foundation for future studies on the phylogeny, diversity, and evolution of Cudonia and Spathularia and highlights the need for more molecular studies on collections from Europe and North America.     

Testing the monophyly of the New Zealand and Australian endemic family Conoesucidae Ross based on combined molecular and morphological data (Insecta: Trichoptera: Sericostomatoidea)

Conoesucidae (Trichoptera, Insecta) are restricted to SE Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. The family includes 42 described species in 12 genera, and each genus is endemic to either New Zealand or Australia. Although monophyly has been previously assumed, no morphological characters have been proposed to represent synapomorphies for the group. We collected molecular data from two mitochondrial genes (16S and cytochrome oxidase I), one nuclear gene (elongation factor 1-α) (2237–2277 bp in total), and 12 morphological characters to produce the first phylogeny of the family. We combined the molecular and morphological characters and performed both a maximum parsimony analysis and a Bayesian analysis to test the monophyly of the family, and to hypothesize the phylogeny among its genera. The parsimony analysis revealed a single most parsimonious tree with Conoesucidae being a monophyletic taxon and sistergroup to the Calocidae. The Bayesian inference produced a distribution of trees, the consensus of which is supported with posterior probabilities of 100% for 15 out of 22 possible ingroup clades including the most basal branch of the family, indicating strong support for a monophyletic Conoesucidae. The most parsimonious tree and the tree from the Bayesian analysis were identical except that the ingroup genus Pycnocentria changed position by jumping to a neighbouring clade. Based on the assumption that the ancestral conoesucid species was present on both New Zealand and Australia, a biogeographical analysis using the dispersal-vicariance criteria demonstrated that one or two (depending on which of the two phylogenetic reconstructions were applied) sympatric speciation events took place on New Zealand prior to a single, late dispersal from New Zealand to Australia.     

Molecular systematics of a speciose, cosmopolitan songbird genus: defining the limits of, and relationships among, the Turdus thrushes

The avian genus Turdus is one of the most speciose and widespread of passerine genera. We investigated phylogenetic relationships within this genus using mitochondrial DNA sequence data from the ND3, ND2 and cytochrome b genes. Our sampling of Turdus included 60 of the 65 extant species currently recognized, as well as all four species from three genera previously shown to fall inside Turdus (Platycichla, Nesocichla, and Cichlherminia). Phylogenetic trees based on maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony algorithms were congruent. Most of the Turdus taxa sampled fall into one of four clades: an African clade, a Central American-Caribbean clade, a largely South American clade, and a Eurasian clade. Still other taxa are placed either at the base of Turdus, or as links between clades. In no instance is any continent reciprocally monophyletic for the species distributed on it. A general lack of nodal support near the base of the phylogeny seems related to a rapid intercontinental establishment of the major clades within Turdus very early in the history of the genus. The monotypic genus Psophocichla is distantly related to, but clearly the sister of, Turdus rather than a constituent member of it.     

One hundred years of instability in ensiferan relationships

Although Ensifera is a major insect model group, its phylogenetic relationships have been understudied so far. Few phylogenetic hypotheses have been proposed, either with morphological or molecular data. The largest dataset ever used for phylogeny reconstruction on this group is molecular (16S rRNA, 18S rRNA and 28S rRNA sequences for 51 ensiferan species), which has been used twice with different resultant topologies. However, only one of these hypotheses has been adopted commonly as a reference classification. Here we re‐analyse this molecular dataset with different methods and parameters to test the robustness and the stability of the adopted phylogeny. Our study reveals the instability of phylogenetic relationships derived from this dataset, especially for the deepest nodes of the group, and suggests some guidelines for future studies. The comparison between the different classifications proposed in the past 70 years for Ensifera and our results allows the identification of potential monophyletic clades (katydids, mole crickets, scaly crickets + Malgasia, true crickets, leaf roller crickets, cave crickets) and the remaining unresolved clades (wetas, Jerusalem crickets and most of the highest rank clades) in Ensifera phylogeny.