Fine-scale comparative phylogeography of a sympatric sister species triplet of subterranean diving beetles from a single calcrete aquifer in Western Australia

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 3683-3698 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. GUZIK ◽  
S. J. B. COOPER ◽  
W. F. HUMPHREYS ◽  
A. D. AUSTIN
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Comparative Phylogeography ◽  
Diving Beetles

How blind are they? Phototactic responses in stygobiont diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) from calcrete aquifers of Western Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara L Langille ◽  
Simon M Tierney ◽  
Andrew D Austin ◽  
William F Humphreys ◽  
Steven J B Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Diving Beetles

scholarly journals Taxonomic review of Australian Mecyclothorax Sharp (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Moriomorphini) with special emphasis on the M. lophoides (Chaudoir) species complex

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
James K. Liebherr
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Late Eocene ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
Sister Group Relationship ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Species Pair ◽  
Spermathecal Duct ◽  
Biogeographic History

The Australian fauna ofMecyclothoraxSharp (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Moriomorphini) is reviewed, with special focus on species assigned to the monophyletic subgenus Eucyclothorax Liebherr:M.isolatus,sp. n.from Western Australia,M.mooreiBaehr,M.punctatus(Sloane),M.curtus(Sloane),M.blackburni(Sloane);M.eyrensis(Blackburn);M.peryphoides(Blackburn);M.darlingtoni,sp. n.from Queensland;M.jameswalkeri,sp. n.from Western Australia;M.lophoides(Chaudoir); andM.cordicollis(Sloane). The last six species listed above–theM.lophoidesspecies complex–have been the source of long-term confusion for taxonomists, with male genitalic characters providing trouble-free species circumscription. One new subspecies,M.lewisensisestriatus,subsp. n.from Queensland is added to the seven previously described taxa of the monophyletic subgenus Qecyclothorax Liebherr. The balance of the fauna consists of four species in the subgenus Mecyclothorax:1and2, the sister-species pairM.lateralis(Castelnau) andM.minutus(Castelnau);3,M.ambiguus(Erichson); and4,M.punctipennis(MacLeay).Mecyclothoraxfortis(Blackburn),syn. n., is newly synonymized withM.minutus.MecyclothoraxovalisSloane is recombined asNeonomiusovalis(Sloane),comb. n., and a neotype is designated to replace the destroyed holotype. Phylogenetic relationships for the AustralianMecyclothoraxare proposed based on information from 68 terminal taxa and 139 morphological characters. The biogeographic history of AustralianMecyclothoraxis deduced based the sister-group relationship betweenMecyclothoraxand theAmblytelus-related genera, with both groups hypothesized to have originated during the late Eocene. Diversification withinMecyclothoraxhas occurred since then in montane rainforests of tropical Queensland, temperate forest biomes of the southwest and southeast, and in grasslands and riparian habitats adjacent and inland from those forests. Several species presently occupy interior desert regions, though no sister species mutually occupy such climatically harsh habitats. TheM.lophoidesspecies complex exhibits profound male genitalic diversification within the context of conserved external anatomy. This disparity is investigated with regard to the functional interaction of the male internal sac flagellum and female spermathecal duct. Though limited association of flagellar and spermathecal duct configurations can be documented, several factors complicate proposing a general evolutionary mechanism for the observed data. These include:1, the occurrence of derived, elongate spermathecal ducts in three species, two of which exhibit very long male flagella, whereas males of the third exhibit a very short flagellum; and2, a highly derived and exaggerated male flagellar configuration shared across a sister-species pair even though the two species can be robustly diagnosed using external anatomical characters, other significant genitalic differences involving male parameral setation, and biogeographic allopatry associated with differential occupation of desert versus forest biomes.

scholarly journals The cranial endocast of the Upper Devonian dipnoan ‘Chirodipterus’ australis

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Struan A.C. Henderson ◽  
Tom J. Challands
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Middle Devonian ◽  
Upper Devonian ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Serial Sectioning ◽  
Cranial Cavity ◽  
Basal Position

One of the first endocasts of a dipnoan (lungfish) to be realised was that of the Upper Devonian taxon Chirodipterus australis. This early interpretation was based on observations of the shape of the cranial cavity alone and was not based on a natural cast or ‘steinkern’ nor from serial sectioning. The validity of this reconstruction is therefore questionable and continued reference to and use of this interpretation in analyses of sarcopterygian cranial evolution runs the risk of propagation of error. Here we present a new detailed anatomical description of the endocast of ‘Chirodipterus’ australis from the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation of Western Australia, known for exceptional 3D preservation which enables fine-scale scrutiny of endocranial anatomy. We show that it exhibits a suite of characters more typical of Lower and Middle Devonian dipnoan taxa. Notably, the small utricular recess is unexpected for a taxon of this age, whereas the ventral expansion of the telencephalon is more typical of more derived taxa. The presence of such ’primitive’ characters in ‘C.’ australis supports its relatively basal position as demonstrated in the most recent phylogenies of Devonian Dipnoi.

scholarly journals The geography and ecology of plant speciation: range overlap and niche divergence in sister species

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1778) ◽  
pp. 20132980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian L. Anacker ◽  
Sharon Y. Strauss
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Species Pairs ◽  
Shared Ancestry ◽  
Ecological Shifts ◽  
Range Overlap ◽  
Close Relatives ◽  
Age Range

A goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the roles of geography and ecology in speciation. The recent shared ancestry of sister species can leave a major imprint on their geographical and ecological attributes, possibly revealing processes involved in speciation. We examined how ecological similarity, range overlap and range asymmetry are related to time since divergence of 71 sister species pairs in the California Floristic Province (CFP). We found that plants exhibit strikingly different age-range correlation patterns from those found for animals; the latter broadly support allopatric speciation as the primary mode of speciation. By contrast, plant sisters in the CFP were sympatric in 80% of cases and range sizes of sisters differed by a mean of 10-fold. Range overlap and range asymmetry were greatest in younger sisters. These results suggest that speciation mechanisms broadly grouped under ‘budding’ speciation, in which a larger ranged progenitor gives rise to a smaller ranged derivative species, are probably common. The ecological and reproductive similarity of sisters was significantly greater than that of sister–non-sister congeners for every trait assessed. However, shifts in at least one trait were present in 93% of the sister pairs; habitat and soil shifts were especially common. Ecological divergence did not increase with range overlap contrary to expectations under character displacement in sympatry. Our results suggest that vicariant speciation is more ubiquitous in animals than plants, perhaps owing to the sensitivity of plants to fine-scale environmental heterogeneity. Despite high levels of range overlap, ecological shifts in the process of budding speciation may result in low rates of fine-scale spatial co-occurrence. These results have implications for ecological studies of trait evolution and community assembly; despite high levels of sympatry, sister taxa and potentially other close relatives, may be missing from local communities.

A revision of Cassinia (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) in Australia. 7. Cassinia subgenus Achromolaena

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
A. E. Orchard
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
New Name ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Western Victoria

The present paper completes a revision of the endemic Australian genus Cassinia R.Br. Cassinia subgenus Achromolaena comprises two sections, namely, section Achromolaena of seven species (C. laevis, C. arcuata, C. uncata, C. tenuifolia, C. collina, C. subtropica, and C. quinquefaria), and Cassinia section Siftonia, which contains two species (C. sifton and C. theodorii). Cassinia laevis is divided into western (C. laevis subsp. laevis) and eastern (C. laevis subsp. rosmarinifolia (A.Cunn.) Orchard, comb. et stat. nov.) taxa. Examination of the type of C. arcuata showed that this name is synonymous with C. paniculata, and applies to a relatively rare taxon with whitish capitula arranged in short erect compact panicles, and found in Western Australia, the midlands of South Australia, western Victoria and (formerly) south-western New South Wales. Furthermore, it belongs to section Achromolaena. The taxon with red to brown capitula, widespread throughout south-eastern Australia, which until now has been (incorrectly) known as C. arcuata (Sifton bush) is distinct, but lacks a published name. The name Cassinia sifton Orchard, sp. nov. is here proposed for this taxon. An unfortunate outcome of this discovery is that the sectional name Cassinia section Arcuatae, with C. arcuata as type, becomes synonymous with section Achromolaena. The new name Cassinia section Siftonia is proposed to accommodate Sifton bush (C. sifton) and its narrowly endemic sister species C. theodorii. A summary of the whole genus is provided, with keys to all taxa. Three former subspecies of C. macrocephala are raised to species rank (C. petrapendula (Orchard) Orchard, C. storyi (Orchard) Orchard, C. tenuis (Orchard) Orchard), and it is suggested that C. furtiva Orchard may be conspecific with C. straminea (Benth.) Orchard.

Revision of the Australian scorpion-fly genus Harpobittacus (Mecoptera : Bittacidae)

1994 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 767 ◽  
Author(s):  
KJ Lambkin
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
South West ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Geographic Distributions ◽  
Eucalypt Woodland ◽  
Western Australian

Harpobittacus Gerstaecker is the largest of the six genera of Australian Bittacidae. Adults occur in eastern, south-eastern and south-western Australian eucalypt woodland and coastal heathland during spring and summer and sometimes autumn. The genus contains 11 species, which are diagnosed in the present revision: H. australis (Klug) [= australis rubripes Riek, syn. nov., = corethrarius (Rambur), = intermedius (Selys-Longchamps)] (south-east Australia, including Tasmania); H. albatus Riek, stat. nov. (= limnaeus Smithers, syn. nov.) (coastal eastern Australia); H. christine, sp. nov. (inland south-east Queensland); H. tillyardi Esben-Petersen ( = nigratus Navás) (coastal eastern Australia); H. rubricatus Riek (inland south-east Australia); H. scheibeli Esben-Petersen (= brewerae Smithers, syn. nov.) (inland and coastal eastern Australia); H. septentrionis, sp. nov. (coastal north Queensland); H. nigriceps (Selys-Longchamps) (mainland south-east Australia); H. similis Esben-Petersen, H. quasisimilis, sp. nov., and H. phaeoscius Riek (all south-west Western Australia). Cladistic analysis has produced the following hypothesis of relationships: (((australis (albatus christine)) (tillyardi rubricatus)) ((similis quasisimilis) ((scheibeli septentrionis) (nigriceps phaeoscius))). Immediate sister-species show little or no overlap in their geographic distributions.

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