scholarly journals Debating phylogenetic relationships of the scleractinian Psammocora: molecular and morphological evidences

2007 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Benzoni ◽  
Fabrizio Stefani ◽  
Jaroslaw Stolarski ◽  
Michel Pichon ◽  
Guillaume Mitta ◽  
...  

The phylogenetic relationships of the scleractinian genus Psammocora with the other genera traditionally included in the family Siderastreidae and some Fungiidae are assessed based on combined skeletal and molecular data. P. explanulata differs from the other examined congeneric species (P. contigua, P. digitata, P. nierstraszi , P. profundacella, P. superficialis, and P. stellata) in possessing interstomatous septa between adult corallites, costae, and in having continuous buttress-like structures joining septal faces (i.e., fulturae) which typically occur in fungiids. These characters are shared with Coscinaraea wellsi but not with the remainder of the examined siderastreids (the congeneric C. columna, and Anomastraea irregularis, Horastrea indica, Pseudosiderastrea tayamai, Siderastrea savignyana) whose septa are interconnected by typical synapticulae. Most of the examined species form septa with distinct transverse groups of centers of calcification, a biomineralization pattern typical of the Robusta clade. The observations on skeletal structures corroborate the results of the ITS2 and 5.8S molecular phylogeny. C. wellsi and P. explanulata are phylogenetically very close to each other and show closer genetic affinity with the examined Fungiidae (Halomitra pileus, Herpolitha limax, Fungia paumotensis, and Podabacia crustacea) than with the other species in the genera Psammocora and Coscinaraea, or with any other siderastreid. Our results show that neither Psammocora nor Coscinaraea are monophyletic genera. The high genetic distances between the species of Siderastreidae, especially between Pseudosiderastrea tayamai and Siderastrea savignyana on one side and the other genera on the other, suggest a deep divergence in the phylogenetic structure of the family.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahar Khodami ◽  
J. Vaun McArthur ◽  
Leocadio Blanco-Bercial ◽  
Pedro Martinez Arbizu

Abstract For the first time, the phylogenetic relationships between representatives of all 10 copepod orders have been investigated using 28S and 18S rRNA, Histone H3 protein and COI mtDNA. The monophyly of Copepoda (including Platycopioida Fosshagen, 1985) is demonstrated for the first time using molecular data. Maxillopoda is rejected, as it is a polyphyletic group. The monophyly of the major subgroups of Copepoda, including Progymnoplea Lang, 1948 (=Platycopioida); Neocopepoda Huys and Boxshall, 1991; Gymnoplea Giesbrecht, 1892 (=Calanoida Sars, 1903); and Podoplea Giesbrecht, 1892, are supported in this study. Seven copepod orders are monophyletic, including Platycopioida, Calanoida, Misophrioida Gurney, 1933; Monstrilloida Sars, 1901; Siphonostomatoida Burmeister, 1834; Gelyelloida Huys, 1988; and Mormonilloida Boxshall, 1979. Misophrioida (=Propodoplea Lang, 1948) is the most basal Podoplean order. The order Cyclopoida Burmeister, 1835, is paraphyletic and now encompasses Poecilostomatoida Thorell, 1859, as a sister to the family Schminkepinellidae Martinez Arbizu, 2006. Within Harpacticoida Sars, 1903, both sections, Polyarthra Lang, 1948, and Oligoarthra Lang, 1948, are monophyletic, but not sister groups. The order Canuelloida is proposed while maintaining the order Harpacticoida s. str. (Oligoarthra). Cyclopoida, Harpacticoida and Cyclopinidae are redefined, while Canuelloida ordo. nov., Smirnovipinidae fam. nov. and Cyclopicinidae fam. nov are proposed as new taxa.



2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisca do Val ◽  
Paulo Nuin

AbstractThe systematics and phylogenetic relationships of the family Leptodactylidae are controversial as is the intrafamilial phylogeny of the leptodactylids. Here we analyze the relationships of the leptodactylid subfamily Hylodinae. This subfamily has been considered to be monophyletic and composed of three genera, Hylodes, Crossodactylus and Megaelosia. In the present study 49 characters were used, based on different studies on Leptodactylidae phylogeny. Maximum parsimony methods with unweighted and successively weighted characters were used to estimate the phylogeny of the Hylodinae. Upon analysis, the data provided further evidence of the monophyletic status of the three genera, with Megaelosia being the basal genus and the other two genera being sister taxa. The analysis with successive weighting results in a more resolved topology of the species subgroups of the genus Hylodes and separates this genus from Crossodactylus and confirms that the hylodines are monophyletic.



2020 ◽  
Vol 189 (4) ◽  
pp. 1249-1312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Sánchez-Vialas ◽  
Mario García-París ◽  
José L Ruiz ◽  
Ernesto Recuero

Abstract Delimiting species boundaries is a complex challenge usually hindered by overlooked morphological diversification or misinterpretation of geographically structured phenotypic variability. Independent molecular data are extremely useful to characterize and understand such morphological diversity. Morphological and molecular variability of the non-phoretic and apterous, widely distributed, giant blister beetles of the genus Berberomeloe, were investigated within and between lineages across most of the distributional range of the genus. We used two mtDNA gene fragments to characterize genetic variability and to produce a time-calibrated phylogeny of the genus. Our results reveal several mitochondrial lineages, allopatrically, parapatrically and sympatrically distributed. Most clades are not distinguishable between each other based on morphometrics. However, no morphometric overlap is observed between two closely related clades, one of them occurring in sympatry with a distantly congeneric species (B. insignis), suggesting that sympatry could trigger morphological diversification. Although most species share a morphometric space, they can be morphologically identified by a combination of easily observed characteristic qualitative features. Based on the concordance between mtDNA clades and morphological units, we describe six new species of Berberomeloe (B. castuo sp. nov., B. comunero sp. nov., B. indalo sp. nov, B. yebli sp. nov., B. payoyo sp. nov. and B. tenebrosus sp. nov.), revalidate two taxa (B. maculifrons comb. nov. and B. laevigatus comb. nov.) and redefine B. majalis.



Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3490 (1) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANGELICA CROTTINI ◽  
AURÉLIEN MIRALLES ◽  
FRANK GLAW ◽  
D. JAMES HARRIS ◽  
ALEXANDRA LIMA ◽  
...  

We describe a new Brookesia species from a forest fragment located 13 km south of Ambalavao in the southern part ofMadagascar's central high plateau. Brookesia brunoi sp. nov. is one of the few arid-adapted Brookesia species inhabitingdeciduous forests on the western slope of the central high plateau of the island (around 950 m a.s.l.). So far the species hasonly been observed in the private Anja Reserve. The species belongs to the Brookesia decaryi group formed by arid-adapt-ed Brookesia species of western Madagascar: B. bonsi Ramanantsoa, B. perarmata (Angel), B. brygooi Raxworthy &Nussbaum and B. decaryi Angel. Brookesia brunoi differs from the other four species of the group by a genetic divergenceof more than 17.6% in the mitochondrial ND2 gene, and by a combination of morphological characters: (1) nine pairs oflaterovertebral pointed tubercles, (2) absence of enlarged pointed tubercles around the vent, (3) presence of poorly definedlaterovertebral tubercles along the entire tail, (4) by the configuration of its cephalic crest, and (5) hemipenial morphology.Based on our molecular phylogeny this species is sister to a clade containing B. brygooi, B. decaryi, and probably B. bonsifor which no ND2 sequences were available. Our molecular data also confirm the presence of a divergent mitochondriallineage in the Tsingy de Bemaraha, which might be assigned to either B. bonsi or B. decaryi, and point to the need of more research on this population.



2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1731) ◽  
pp. 1093-1099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Heikkilä ◽  
Lauri Kaila ◽  
Marko Mutanen ◽  
Carlos Peña ◽  
Niklas Wahlberg

Although the taxonomy of the ca 18 000 species of butterflies and skippers is well known, the family-level relationships are still debated. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the superfamilies Papilionoidea, Hesperioidea and Hedyloidea to date based on morphological and molecular data. We reconstructed their phylogenetic relationships using parsimony and Bayesian approaches. We estimated times and rates of diversification along lineages in order to reconstruct their evolutionary history. Our results suggest that the butterflies, as traditionally understood, are paraphyletic, with Papilionidae being the sister-group to Hesperioidea, Hedyloidea and all other butterflies. Hence, the families in the current three superfamilies should be placed in a single superfamily Papilionoidea. In addition, we find that Hedylidae is sister to Hesperiidae, and this novel relationship is supported by two morphological characters. The families diverged in the Early Cretaceous but diversified after the Cretaceous–Palaeogene event. The diversification of butterflies is characterized by a slow speciation rate in the lineage leading to Baronia brevicornis , a period of stasis by the skippers after divergence and a burst of diversification in the lineages leading to Nymphalidae, Riodinidae and Lycaenidae.



Zootaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4196 (2) ◽  
pp. 289
Author(s):  
SERGIO TICUL ÁLVAREZ-CASTAÑEDA ◽  
CONSUELO LORENZO

Since Sylvilagus bachmani (Lagomorpha: Leporidae) from the Baja California Peninsula and S. mansuetus from San Jose Island, Mexico, display an allopatric distribution and are closely related, their taxonomy is unclear. The phylogenetic relationships among specimens of both species were evaluated using two mitochondrial genes (Cyt b, COI) and the beta-fibrinogen nuclear gene intron 7 (β-fib I7). The genetic analyses revealed that S. mansuetus was included within the S. bachmani clade as the sister-group of S. b. cerrosensis. The genetic distances among S. b. cerrosensis and mansuetus were relatively low (1.3% with Cyt b), similar to intraspecific distances observed within other species of Sylvilagus. We consider mansuetus to be a subspecies of S. bachmani, and the morphological traits previously used to differentiate the two taxa should be used to distinguish S. b. mansuetus from the other subspecies of S. bachmani. 



Phytotaxa ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
HIRAN A. ARIYAWANSA ◽  
SAJEEWA S.N. MAHARACHCHIKUMBURA ◽  
SAMANTHA C.KARUNARATHNE ◽  
EKACHAI CHUKEATIROTE ◽  
ALI H. BAHKALI ◽  
...  

Deniquelata barringtoniae gen. et sp. nov. (Montagnulaceae) forms numerous ascomata on distinct zonate leaf spots of Barringtonia asiatica (Lecythidaceae). We isolated this taxon and sequenced the 18S and 28S nrDNA. The result of phylogenetic analysis based on 18S and 28S nrDNA sequence data indicate that the genus belongs in the family Montagnulaceae, Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota. The ascomata are immersed, dark brown to black, with bitunicate asci and brown, muriform ascospores. Deniquelata is distinguished from the other genera in Montagnulaceae based on its short, broad, furcate and pedicellate asci, verruculose ascospores with short narrow pseudoparaphyses with parasitic naturee and this is also supported by molecular data. A new genus and species is therefore introduced to accommodate this taxon. We used isolates of this species to show via pathogenicity testing that the taxon is able to cause leaf spots when leaves are pin pricked.



2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M. Oliver ◽  
Mark N. Hutchinson ◽  
Steven J. B. Cooper

Diplodactylid geckos offer a model system for investigating the biogeographic history of Australia and adaptive radiations in the arid zone, but there is considerable uncertainty in the systematics of several key genera. We used sequence data from mitochondrial DNA to carry out a comprehensive analysis of phylogenetic relationships of geckos in the genus Diplodactylus. Parsimony and Bayesian analyses were highly concordant and allocated all species to one of two monophyletic clades, one comprising the species placed in the vittatus and conspicillatus species groups, the other comprising species placed in the stenodactylus and steindachneri species groups, plus D. byrnei, formerly in the vittatus group. The distinctness of these two clades is supported by external morphology of the digits, body and limb proportions, and osteology of the bones in the orbital region, and we use these characters to formally define the two clades as genera. We revive and expand the genus Lucasium for D. byrnei, D. steindachneri and the stenodactylus group, with the other species staying in a redefined Diplodactylus. The monotypic Rhynchoedura is distinct from Lucasium, although the Bayesian mtDNA analysis (but not parsimony) gives some support for a sister-group relationship between Lucasium and Rhynchoedura. Molecular data suggest that each of these clades represents a distinct radiation into semiarid and arid terrestrial habitats during the mid-Tertiary, well before the hypothesised Pliocene onset of major aridification.



2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E Ditter ◽  
Luis M Mejía-Ortíz ◽  
Heather D Bracken-Grissom

Abstract Barbouriidae Christoffersen, 1987 is a family comprised of 4 genera and 11 species of enigmatic shrimps restricted to anchialine or marine caves whose evolutionary history and relationships remain elusive. We investigated the evolutionary relationships among members of Barbouriidae with the inclusion of four genera and nine species, and newly collected material from Belize, the Bahamas, and the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Phylogenetic analyses based on seven mitochondrial and nuclear gene regions and genetic distances calculated using partial 16S gene regions have identified a need to revisit the relationships and classification within Barbouriidae. More specifically, we find evidence to suggest Janicea Manning & Hart, 1984 as a junior synonym of Parhippolyte Borradaile, 1900, B. yanezi Mejía, Zarza & López, 2008 as a synonym of Barbouria cubensis (von Martens, 1872), and define two new subfamilies, Calliasmatinae Holthuis, 1973 and Barbouriinae Christoffersen, 1987. Included is a dichotomous key for the species of Barbouriidae that summarizes previous literature and includes new morphological characters. Our findings shed light on existing inaccuracies and gaps in molecular data from barbouriids. We also provide further clarity into evolutionary relationships among genera of Barbouriidae and their allies, suggesting phylogeographic divisions within the family. Our findings suggest an early Atlantic-Pacific divide among genera originating from a shallow-water reef ancestor.



1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 1425-1439 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Riutort ◽  
K. G. Field ◽  
J. M. Turbeville ◽  
R. A. Raff ◽  
J. Baguña

Enzyme polymorphism and 18S rRNA sequences have been used to measure genetic distances between several species of Platyhelminthes belonging to different taxa including freshwater and parasitic forms. We have used these data to address unresolved phylogenetic and taxonomic problems with this group at several different levels ranging from phylum to subgenus. The main conclusions supported by the data seem to be the following: (i) 18S rRNA data strongly suggest that the Platyhelminthes are monophyletic, being a sister-group to the other Eubilateria; a similar conclusion applies to the Paludicola as to the rest of Platyhelminthes studied; (ii) 18S rRNA and enzyme data indicate that the family Dugesiidae of the Paludicola is monophyletic with respect to the other two families, Planariidae and Dendrocoelidae; and (iii) the subgenus Schmidtea of the genus Dugesia is monophyletic with respect to the other two subgenera of Dugesia, Dugesia and Girardia. Other aspects of the relationships of subgenera and families could not be satisfactorily resolved, but point to new problems that should be addressed in future studies, namely the taxonomic status of the family Planariidae and the relationships between the genera and subgenera of the family Dugesiidae.



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