scholarly journals Phylogeny and biogeography of the enigmatic ghost lineage Cylindrotomidae (Diptera, Nematocera)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iwona Kania-Kłosok ◽  
André Nel ◽  
Jacek Szwedo ◽  
Wiktoria Jordan-Stasiło ◽  
Wiesław Krzemiński

AbstractGhost lineages have always challenged the understanding of organism evolution. They participate in misinterpretations in phylogenetic, clade dating, biogeographic, and paleoecologic studies. They directly result from fossilization biases and organism biology. The Cylindrotomidae are a perfect example of an unexplained ghost lineage during the Mesozoic, as its sister family Tipulidae is already well diversified during the Cretaceous, while the oldest Cylindrotomidae are Paleogene representatives of the extant genus Cylindrotoma and of the enigmatic fossil genus Cyttaromyia. Here we clarify the phylogenetic position of Cyttaromyia in the stem group of the whole family, suggesting that the crown group of the Cylindrotomidae began to diversify during the Cenozoic, unlike their sister group Tipulidae. We make a comparative analysis of all species in Cyttaromyia, together with the descriptions of the two new species, C. gelhausi sp. nov. and C. freiwaldi sp. nov., and the revision of C. obdurescens. The cylindrotomid biogeography seems to be incongruent with the phylogenetic analysis, the apparently most derived subfamily Stibadocerinae having apparently a ‘Gondwanan’ distribution, with some genera only known from Australia or Chile, while the most inclusive Cylindrotominae are Holarctic.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iwona Kania-Kłosok ◽  
André Nel ◽  
Jacek Szwedo ◽  
Wiktoria Jordan-Stasiło ◽  
Wiesław Krzemiński

Abstract Ghost lineages have always challenged the understanding of organism evolution. They participate in misinterpretations in phylogenetic, clade dating, biogeographic, and paleoecologic studies. They directly result from fossilization biases and organism biology. The Cylindrotomidae are a perfect example of an unexplained ghost lineage during the Mesozoic, as its sister family Tipulidae is already well diversified during the Cretaceous, while the oldest Cylindrotomidae are Paleogene representatives of the extant genus Cylindrotoma and of the enigmatic fossil genus Cyttaromyia. Here We clarify the phylogenetic position of Cyttaromyia in the stem group of the whole family, suggesting that the crown group of the Cylindrotomidae began to diversify during the Cenozoic, unlike their sister group Tipulidae. We make a comparative analysis of all species in Cyttaromyia, together with the descriptions of the two new species, C. gelhausi sp. nov. and C. freiwaldi sp. nov., and the revision of C. obdurescens. The cylindrotomid biogeography seems to be incongruent with the phylogenetic analysis, the apparently most derived subfamily Stibadocerinae having apparently a ‘Gondwanan’ distribution, with some genera only known from Australia or Chile, while the most inclusive Cylindrotominae are Holarctic.


2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 784-789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario G. Lazo ◽  
Marcela Cichowolski

Plesiosaurs constitute a monophyletic group whose stratigraphical range is uppermost Triassic to uppermost Cretaceous (Brown, 1981). They were large predatory marine reptiles, highly adapted for submarine locomotion, with powerful paddle-like limbs and heavily reinforced limb girdles (Saint-Seine, 1955; Romer, 1966; Carroll, 1988; Benton, 1990). The Plesiosauria clade belongs to the Sauropterygia, which has recently been hypothesized as the sister-group of the Ichthyosauria. Together with that clade they form the Euryapsida (Caldwell, 1997). The Sauropterygia can be subdivided into relatively plesiomorphic stem-group taxa from the Triassic (Placodonts, Nothosauroids, and Pistosauroids), and the obligatorily marine crown-group Plesiosauria (Rieppel, 1999). Plesiosaurs are traditionally divided into two superfamilies: Plesiosauroidea, with usually small heads and long necks; and Pliosauroidea, with larger heads and shorter necks (Welles, 1943; Persson, 1963; Brown, 1981). Plesiosauroidea contains three families: Plesiosauridae, Cryptoclididae, and Elasmosauridae (Brown, 1981; Brown and Cruickshank, 1994). The validity of the Polycotylidae Cope, 1869, has long been questioned and its phylogenetic position among Plesiosauria debated, as many consider it to be related to the Pliosauridae or to be a sister-group of the Elasmosauridae (Sato and Storrs, 2000; O'Keefe, 2001).


Phytotaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 369 (2) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
XU LU ◽  
YAN-HONG MU ◽  
HAI-SHENG YUAN

Two new species of Tomentella from the Lesser Xingan Mts. of northeastern China, T. pallidocastanea and T. tenuirhizomorpha, are described and illustrated using morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenetic analysis. T. pallidocastanea is characterized by mucedinoid basidiocarps adherent to the substrate, a light reddish brown to pinkish grey hymenophoral surface, absence of rhizomorphs and cystidia, generative hyphae with clamps, rarely with simple septa and echinulate, and subglobose to lobed basidiospores (echinuli up to 1.5 μm long). T. tenuirhizomorpha is characterized by mucedinoid basidiocarps separable from the substrate, a greyish brown to dark brown hymenophoral surface, thin rhizomorphs in the subiculum and margins, an absence of cystidia, generative hyphae with clamps rarely with simple septa and echinulate, and subglobose to globose basidiospores (echinuli up to 1.5 μm long). Molecular analyses using Maximum Likelihood, Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian Analysis confirm the phylogenetic position of the two new species. The discriminating characters of these two new species and their closely related species are discussed in this study.


Paleobiology ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rich Mooi

Convincing hypotheses of the origin of major invertebrate groups are difficult to make in the absence of phylogenetic analyses. In spite of this, several scenarios exist for the origin of the unusual echinoid order Clypeasteroida. I expand upon the most probable of these models by performing a phylogenetic analysis on three clypeasteroid suborders, the enigmatic fossil genusTogocyamus, and the extinct Oligopygoida. This analysis shows that the oligopygoids are the sister group of the Clypeasteroida plusTogocyamus. The latter is here considered a plesion (extinct sister group) to the crown group Clypeasteroida. Within that order, the suborder Clypeasterina is the sister group to the Laganina plus Scutellina. A new classification of all these taxa is presented. The phylogeny is based on 47 characters and incorporates data on external appendages, Aristotle's lantern anatomy, and test structure of irregular echinoids, as well as new information on the morphology ofTogocyamus. The earliest clypeasteroids had a lantern similar to that of adult oligopygoids, which in turn inherited their lantern from a cassiduloid-like ancestor that retained the lantern into adulthood. This lantern is absent in adult cassiduloids. Subsequent changes, including modification of the lantern into a crushing mill, extreme flattening of the test, and proliferation of food-gathering tube feet have allowed clypeasteroids to become epifaunal inhabitants of environments characterized by fine, shifting substrates, a habitat previously inaccessible to most other irregular echinoids.


Zootaxa ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1325 (1) ◽  
pp. 235 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANA LÚCIA TOURINHO ◽  
ABEL PÉREZ GONZÁLEZ

Two new species of Brazilian Fissiphalliidae are described. Fissiphallius chicoi n. sp. from Pará State, Gurupá municipality, whitewater floodplains (várzea), and Fissiphallius tucupi n. sp. from Amazonas State, Castanho municipality (paleovárzea). The number of species for this family in the Amazon rainforest increases from one to three. The two new species are closely related to Fissiphallius martensi Pinto-da-Rocha, 2004 from Amazonas State, Manaus. Fissiphalliidae and Zalmoxidae show remarkable similarities in somatic and genital morphology. Fissiphalliidae is kept as a family on the basis of its particular shape of the stragulum, but this character should be tested in a phylogenetic framework. A future phylogenetic analysis should determine if Fissiphalliidae is in fact the sister group of Zalmoxidae, or just a junior synonym. A key for identification, a distribution map, and notes on the distribution of the six species of Fissiphalliidae and the biology of the Amazonian species are given.


Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2295 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
VLADIMIR BLAGODEROV ◽  
HEIKKI HIPPA ◽  
JAN ŠEVČÍK

A new genus of Lygistorrhinidae, Asiorrhina gen. n., and a new species, Asiorrhina parasiatica sp. n., are described. Asiorrhina asiatica (Senior-White) comb. n. is redescribed and selected as the type species for the new genus. The systematic position of the new genus is discussed. All recent taxa of Lygistorrhinidae form a monophyletic group with the fossil genus Palaeognoriste Meunier as the sister group.


Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4399 (2) ◽  
pp. 248 ◽  
Author(s):  
PEKKA VILKAMAA ◽  
HANS-GEORG RUDZINSKI ◽  
NIKOLA BURDÍKOVÁ ◽  
JAN ŠEVČÍK

Four Oriental species of Aerumnosa Mohrig, 1999 (Diptera: Sciaridae), a genus previously known only from Papua New Guinea, are newly described and illustrated: Aerumnosa bituberculata sp. n. (India), A. gemmifera sp. n. (Malaysia: Sabah), A. horrifica sp. n. (Brunei, Thailand) and A. impar sp. n. (Malaysia: Sabah). On the basis of the new material, the genus is redefined. A key to the known species of Aerumnosa is presented, including four new species. An updated molecular phylogenetic analysis based on four gene markers (18S, 28S, 16S and COI) shows Aerumnosa to be a member of the subfamily Cratyninae. The monophyly of Cratyninae is well supported, which clade also includes the genera Hyperlasion Schmitz, 1919, Pnyxiopalpus Vilkamaa & Hippa, 1999 and Pseudoaerumnosa Rudzinski, 2006. According to the present phylogenetic hypothesis, the monophyly of Cratyna Winnertz, 1967 s. l. needs to be revisited. The clade including Cratyna (s. str.) ambigua (Lengersdorf, 1934) appears as the sister group of Aerumnosa. 


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémy Anquetin

In recent years, no less than five new species of stem-group turtles have been described worldwide. Among them are three new turtles from Middle Jurassic deposits that partially fill a previous temporal and morphological gap in our knowledge of the early evolution of these shelled amniotes: Heckerochelys romani, Condorchelys antiqua and Eileanchelys waldmani. For the first time, the phylogenetic position of these three new species is tested in the context of the two presently competing cladistic models of turtle evolution. The addition of these taxa to each matrix does not favour or alter any of the two opposed hypotheses. However, it is demonstrated here that, by documenting yet unknown stages in the evolution of several morphological structures, these three species give stronger support to the model of an extended phylogenetic stem for turtles. These new lines of evidence include the structure of the vomer, the position of the aditus canalis stapedio-temporalis and of the posterior opening of the canalis cavernosus, and the morphology of the processus interfenestralis of the opisthotic. These characters should be considered for future phylogenetic analyses of turtle interrelationships.Recent discoveries also reinvigorate the debate about the palaeoecology of early turtles. Whereas simple morphological characters (e.g., shell fontanelle, ligamentous bridge, flattened carapace) can be misleading, forelimb proportions and shell bone histology have led to the conclusion that most stem turtles (i.e., Proganochelys quenstedti, Palaeochersis talampayensis, Proterochersis robusta, Kayentachelys aprix and meiolaniids) were terrestrial forms. On the contrary, it is generally accepted that crown-group turtles are ancestrally aquatic. Among the five recently described stem-group turtles, Odontochelys semitestacea and Eileanchelys waldmani have been convincingly interpreted as having aquatic habits, which suggests that basal turtles were ecologically diverse. More investigation is needed, but this will undoubtedly trigger further debate on the primitive ecology of turtles and on the origin of aquatic habits in Testudines (i.e., the crown-group), respectively.


Fossil Record ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Witzmann ◽  
Sven Sachs ◽  
Christian J. Nyhuis

Abstract. A nearly complete dermal skull roof of a capitosaur stereospondyl with closed otic fenestrae from the middle Carnian Stuttgart Formation (Late Triassic) of Bielefeld-Sieker (NW Germany) is described. The specimen is assigned to the genus Cyclotosaurus based on the limited contribution of the frontal to the orbital margin via narrow lateral processes. A new species, Cyclotosaurus buechneri sp. nov., is erected based upon the following unique combination of characters: (1) the interorbital distance is short so that the orbitae are medially placed (shared with C. robustus); (2) the region lateral to the orbitae is only slightly broader than the orbitae (shared with C. posthumus, C. ebrachensis, C. intermedius, and C. mordax); (3) the postorbital region is slender (shared with C. ebrachensis); (4) the preorbital projection of the jugal is shorter than half the length of the snout (shared with C. mordax, C. ebrachensis, C. intermedius, C. posthumus, and C. hemprichi). A phylogenetic analysis of seven Cyclotosaurus species, including C. buechneri, and eight further capitosaur taxa with the Rhinesuchidae as an outgroup finds a monophyletic Cyclotosaurus. In accordance with its stratigraphic occurrence, C. buechneri nests at its base but is more derived than C. robustus. Among the more derived Cyclotosaurus species, C. ebrachensis and C. intermedius, as well as C. posthumus and C. hemprichi, form sister groups, respectively. However, the phylogenetic position of C. mordax with respect to both groups remains unresolved. In the phylogenetic analysis presented here, Cyclotosaurus is the sister group of the Heylerosaurinae (Eocyclotosaurus + Quasicyclotosaurus). Cyclotosaurus buechneri represents the only unequivocal evidence of Cyclotosaurus (and of a cyclotosaur in general) in northern Germany.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Fikáček ◽  
Munetoshi Maruyama ◽  
Takashi Komatsu ◽  
Christoph von Beeren ◽  
Dominik Vondráček ◽  
...  

The genus Sphaerocetum Fikáček, 2010 is reviewed on the basis of specimens collected from mixed ant nests shared by Camponotus Mayr, 1861 and Crematogaster Lund, 1831 ants in Peninsular Malaysia. Two new species, S. arboreum, sp. nov. and S. hortulanum, sp. nov., are described. A larva of S. arboreum was collected in the same nest as the adults, implying that it is likely that the entire life cycle takes place inside the ant nest; its association with adults was confirmed by cox1 sequences. It is described in detail and represents the first known larva of the tribe Protosternini. Fragments of four genes (cox1, cox2, 18S and 28S) were amplified for S. arboreum and combined with previously generated data in order to test the position of the genus within the subfamily Sphaeridiinae. The analyses revealed Sphaerocetum as a sister taxon to Protosternum Sharp, 1890, corroborating the monophyly of the tribe Protosternini. Bayesian analysis revealed an alternative hypothesis of the phylogenetic position of the tribe, indicating that Protosternini is a sister-group to Omicrini. This position is supported by the chaetotaxy of the maxillary stipes of the larva, which lacks the increased number of stout setae on the inner face present in all other Sphaeridiinae larvae except Omicrini.


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