Allopatric speciation in the flightless Phoberus capensis (Coleoptera: Trogidae) group, with description of two new species
- Strümpher, Werner P, Sole, Catherine L, Villet, Martin H, Scholtz, Clarke H
- Authors: Strümpher, Werner P , Sole, Catherine L , Villet, Martin H , Scholtz, Clarke H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442730 , vital:74028 , ISBN , https://brill.com/view/journals/ise/47/2/article-p149_4.xml
- Description: The name Phoberus capensis (Scholtz) is applied to a small flightless, keratinophagous beetle endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. Its gross distribution stretches from roughly 1000 km from the Cederberg (32°24’22” S, 19°04’50” E) to Grahamstown (33°20’07” S, 26°32’50” E). The populations are spatially discrete, restricted to relict forests of the southern Cape and disjunct high montane refugia of the Cape Fold Mountains. We test the hypothesis that there is more than one distinct species nested within the name P . capensis . Phylogenetic relationships among populations were inferred using molecular sequence data. The results support three distinct evolutionary lineages, which were also supported by morphological characters. Divergence time estimates suggest Pliocene-Pleistocene diversification. Based on these results, it is suggested that the P. capensis lineage experienced climatically-driven allopatric speciation with sheltered Afrotemperate forests and high mountain peaks serving as important refugia in response to climatic ameliorations. The P. capensis complex thus represents a speciation process in which flight-restricted populations evolved in close allopatry, possibly as recently as the Pleistocene. Two divergent and geographically distinct lineages are described as novel species: The new species, P . disjunctus sp. n. and P . herminae sp. n., are illustrated by photographs of habitus and male aedeagi.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Strümpher, Werner P , Sole, Catherine L , Villet, Martin H , Scholtz, Clarke H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442730 , vital:74028 , ISBN , https://brill.com/view/journals/ise/47/2/article-p149_4.xml
- Description: The name Phoberus capensis (Scholtz) is applied to a small flightless, keratinophagous beetle endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. Its gross distribution stretches from roughly 1000 km from the Cederberg (32°24’22” S, 19°04’50” E) to Grahamstown (33°20’07” S, 26°32’50” E). The populations are spatially discrete, restricted to relict forests of the southern Cape and disjunct high montane refugia of the Cape Fold Mountains. We test the hypothesis that there is more than one distinct species nested within the name P . capensis . Phylogenetic relationships among populations were inferred using molecular sequence data. The results support three distinct evolutionary lineages, which were also supported by morphological characters. Divergence time estimates suggest Pliocene-Pleistocene diversification. Based on these results, it is suggested that the P. capensis lineage experienced climatically-driven allopatric speciation with sheltered Afrotemperate forests and high mountain peaks serving as important refugia in response to climatic ameliorations. The P. capensis complex thus represents a speciation process in which flight-restricted populations evolved in close allopatry, possibly as recently as the Pleistocene. Two divergent and geographically distinct lineages are described as novel species: The new species, P . disjunctus sp. n. and P . herminae sp. n., are illustrated by photographs of habitus and male aedeagi.
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Overview and revision of the extant genera and subgenera of Trogidae (Coleoptera Scarabaeoidea).
- Strümpher, Werner P, Villet, Martin H, Sole, Catherine L, Scholtz, Clarke H
- Authors: Strümpher, Werner P , Villet, Martin H , Sole, Catherine L , Scholtz, Clarke H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442743 , vital:74029 , ISBN , https://brill.com/view/journals/ise/47/1/article-p53_4.xml
- Description: Extant genera and subgenera of the Trogidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) are reviewed. Contemporary classifications of this family have been based exclusively on morphological characters. The first molecular phylogeny for the family recently provided strong support for the relationships between morphologically defined genera and subgenera. On the basis of morphological, molecular and biogeographical evidence, certain taxonomic changes to the genus-level classification of the family are now proposed. The family is confirmed as consisting of two subfamilies, Omorginae Nikolajev and Troginae MacLeay, the former with two genera, Omorgus Erichson and Polynoncus Burmeister, and the latter with two genera, Trox Fabricius and Phoberus MacLeay stat. rev. Phoberus is restored to generic rank to include all Afrotropical (including Madagascan endemic) species; Afromorgus is confirmed at subgeneric rank within the genus Omorgus ; and the monotypic Madagascan genus Madagatrox syn. n. is synonymised with Phoberus. The current synonymies of Pseudotrox Robinson (with Trox ), Chesas Burmeister, Lagopelus Burmeister and Megalotrox Preudhomme de Borre (all with Omorgus ) are all accepted to avoid creating speculative synonyms before definitive phylogenetic evidence is available.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Strümpher, Werner P , Villet, Martin H , Sole, Catherine L , Scholtz, Clarke H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442743 , vital:74029 , ISBN , https://brill.com/view/journals/ise/47/1/article-p53_4.xml
- Description: Extant genera and subgenera of the Trogidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) are reviewed. Contemporary classifications of this family have been based exclusively on morphological characters. The first molecular phylogeny for the family recently provided strong support for the relationships between morphologically defined genera and subgenera. On the basis of morphological, molecular and biogeographical evidence, certain taxonomic changes to the genus-level classification of the family are now proposed. The family is confirmed as consisting of two subfamilies, Omorginae Nikolajev and Troginae MacLeay, the former with two genera, Omorgus Erichson and Polynoncus Burmeister, and the latter with two genera, Trox Fabricius and Phoberus MacLeay stat. rev. Phoberus is restored to generic rank to include all Afrotropical (including Madagascan endemic) species; Afromorgus is confirmed at subgeneric rank within the genus Omorgus ; and the monotypic Madagascan genus Madagatrox syn. n. is synonymised with Phoberus. The current synonymies of Pseudotrox Robinson (with Trox ), Chesas Burmeister, Lagopelus Burmeister and Megalotrox Preudhomme de Borre (all with Omorgus ) are all accepted to avoid creating speculative synonyms before definitive phylogenetic evidence is available.
- Full Text:
Phylogeny of the family Trogidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence data
- Strümpher, Werner P, Sole, Catherine L, Villet, Martin H, Scholtz, Clarke H
- Authors: Strümpher, Werner P , Sole, Catherine L , Villet, Martin H , Scholtz, Clarke H
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442253 , vital:73970 , https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12074
- Description: Trogidae constitute a monophyletic and biologically unique family within Scarabaeoidea, being the only keratinophagous group in the superfamily. Traditionally, the family has been divided into three distinctive genera, Polynoncus Burmeister, Omorgus Erichson and Trox Fabricius. Although the taxonomy of the group is relatively well studied, changes to the existing classification have recently been proposed and the family as currently constituted has not been subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Here we present a molecular phylogeny for this cosmopolitan family based on three partially sequenced gene regions: 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA and 28S rRNA (domain 2). Included in the analyses are representatives belonging to four of the five extant genera (and three of the four subgenera) from all major zoogeographic regions, representing about 20% of the known trogid species diversity in the family. Phylogenetic analyses performed included parsimony and Bayesian inference. We deduce their historical biogeography by using trogid fossils as calibration points for divergence estimates. Our analyses resolved relationships between and within genera and subgenera that are largely congruent with existing phylogeny hypotheses based on morphological data. We recovered four well‐supported radiations: Polynoncus, Omorgus, Holarctic Trox and African Phoberus MacLeay. On the basis of this study, it is proposed that taxonomic changes to the generic classification of the family be made. The subgenera Trox and Phoberus should be elevated to genera to include the Holarctic and all the Afrotropical species, respectively, and Afromorgus returned to subgeneric rank. Estimates of divergence time are consistent with a Pangaean origin of the family in the Early Jurassic. The subsequent diversification of the major lineages is largely attributed to the break‐up of Pangaea and Gondwana in the Middle Jurassic and early Late Cretaceous, respectively.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Strümpher, Werner P , Sole, Catherine L , Villet, Martin H , Scholtz, Clarke H
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442253 , vital:73970 , https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12074
- Description: Trogidae constitute a monophyletic and biologically unique family within Scarabaeoidea, being the only keratinophagous group in the superfamily. Traditionally, the family has been divided into three distinctive genera, Polynoncus Burmeister, Omorgus Erichson and Trox Fabricius. Although the taxonomy of the group is relatively well studied, changes to the existing classification have recently been proposed and the family as currently constituted has not been subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Here we present a molecular phylogeny for this cosmopolitan family based on three partially sequenced gene regions: 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA and 28S rRNA (domain 2). Included in the analyses are representatives belonging to four of the five extant genera (and three of the four subgenera) from all major zoogeographic regions, representing about 20% of the known trogid species diversity in the family. Phylogenetic analyses performed included parsimony and Bayesian inference. We deduce their historical biogeography by using trogid fossils as calibration points for divergence estimates. Our analyses resolved relationships between and within genera and subgenera that are largely congruent with existing phylogeny hypotheses based on morphological data. We recovered four well‐supported radiations: Polynoncus, Omorgus, Holarctic Trox and African Phoberus MacLeay. On the basis of this study, it is proposed that taxonomic changes to the generic classification of the family be made. The subgenera Trox and Phoberus should be elevated to genera to include the Holarctic and all the Afrotropical species, respectively, and Afromorgus returned to subgeneric rank. Estimates of divergence time are consistent with a Pangaean origin of the family in the Early Jurassic. The subsequent diversification of the major lineages is largely attributed to the break‐up of Pangaea and Gondwana in the Middle Jurassic and early Late Cretaceous, respectively.
- Full Text:
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