The Sarcophagidae (flesh flies) comprise a large and widely distributed radiation within the Calyptratae (Diptera). Larval feeding habits are ecologically diverse and include sarcosaprophagy, coprophagy, herbivory, invertebrate and vertebrate predation, and kleptoparasitism. To elucidate the geographic origin and evolution of flesh fly life‐history, we inferred a backbone phylogeny based on transcriptomic

Asian forest scorpions (Scorpionidae Latreille, 1802: Heterometrinae Simon, 1879) are distributed across South and Southeast Asia. All are fossorial, constructing burrows under stones or in open ground, in habitats differing in precipitation and vegetation cover, from rainforests and tropical deciduous forests to savanna and scrubland. The systematics of these scorpions has long been confused due to

Neotropical swarm‐founding wasps are divided into 19 genera in the tribe Epiponini (Vespidae, Polistinae). They display extensive variation in several colony‐level traits that make them an attractive model system for reconstructing the evolution of social phenotypes, including caste dimorphism and nest architecture. Epiponini has been upheld as a solid monophyletic group in most phylogenetic analyses

We analyzed 769 242 occurrence records for 115 424 species of terrestrial arthropods, from three biodiversity repositories (Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Natural History Museum, London, and “Sistema de Informação Distribuído para Coleções Biológicas” (SpeciesLink)), to test the use of global‐scale data points for quantitative assessments of areas of endemism. The data include Insecta

Phylogenetic studies of Aleocharinae rove beetles, arguably one of the least known and the largest insect lineages, are compromised by its enormous taxonomic diversity. DNA, a powerful resource for phylogenetics, is not available for numerous extant aleocharine species. We provide a broad comparative morphological study of Aleocharinae to frame molecular datasets for total‐evidence analyses. Using

We study the phylogenetic relationships of egg‐brooding frogs, a group of 118 neotropical species, unique among anurans by having embryos with large bell‐shaped gills and females carrying their eggs on the dorsum, exposed or inside a pouch. We assembled a total evidence dataset of published and newly generated data containing 51 phenotypic characters and DNA sequences of 20 loci for 143 hemiphractids

Brazil has high levels of biodiversity and has received strong criticism for the increasing country‐wide deforestation that threatens it. Although a significant percentage of land area in Brazil is protected, the areas are insufficient and unevenly distributed. Many studies have contributed to the biogeographical knowledge of Brazilian flora, but no endemicity analysis (EA) has been conducted including

Despite many attempts in the Sanger sequencing era, the phylogeny of fig trees remains unresolved, which limits our ability to analyze the evolution of key traits that may have contributed to their evolutionary and ecological success. We used restriction‐site‐associated DNA sequencing (c. 420 kb) and 102 morphological characters to elucidate the relationships between 70 species of Ficus. To increase

The Geomitrini is the most species‐rich group of land snails in the Madeiran Archipelago. The phylogeny of the group is reconstructed based on mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers. The timing of diversification, the colonisation history of the islands of the Madeiran Archipelago and the evolution of characters of the dart apparatus are studied. The results of the phylogenetic analyses confirm

Direct optimization of unaligned sequence characters provides a natural framework to explore the sensitivity of phylogenetic hypotheses to variation in analytical parameters. Phenotypic data, when combined into such analyses, are typically analyzed with static homology correspondences unlike the dynamic homology sequence data. Static homology characters may be expected to constrain the direct optimization

Bombyliidae is a very species‐rich and widespread family of parasitoid flies with more than 250 genera classified into 17 extant subfamilies. However, little is known about their evolutionary history or how their present‐day diversity was shaped. Transcriptomes of 15 species and anchored hybrid enrichment (AHE) sequence captures of 86 species, representing 94 bee fly species and 14 subfamilies, were

In recent years, the use of extensive molecular and morphological datasets has clarified the phylogenetic relationships among the orders of complex thalloid liverworts (Marchantiidae). However, previous studies excluded extinct taxa; thereby, undersampling the actual taxonomic diversity of the group. Here, we conducted a total‐evidence analysis of Marchantiidae incorporating fossils. The combined dataset

Phylogenetic analyses based on molecular and morphological data were conducted to shed light on relationships within the mostly Palaearctic/Oriental centipede family Lithobiidae, with a particular focus on the Palaearctic genus Lithobius Leach, 1814 (Lithobiidae, Lithobiomorpha), which contains >500 species and subspecies. Previous studies based on morphological data resolved Lithobius as nonmonophyletic

Currently comprising only about 430 species, Dipsocoromorpha or minute litter bugs are one of the small infraorders of Heteroptera. They are classified into five morphologically distinct families––Ceratocombidae, Dipsocoridae, Hypsipterygidae, Schizopteridae and Stemmocryptidae––but relationships among and within these families are poorly understood owing to the lack of phylogenetic studies. A phylogenetic

High throughput sequencing and phylogenomic analyses focusing on relationships among spiders have both reinforced and upturned long‐standing hypotheses. Likewise, the evolution of spider webs—perhaps their most emblematic attribute—is being understood in new ways. With a matrix including 272 spider species and close arachnid relatives, we analyze and evaluate the relationships among these lineages

We report on the colonization and diversification of linyphiid spiders in the Pacific oceanic archipelago of Juan Fernandez. About 50 spider species occur naturally in these islands, most of them endemic and about half of them are linyphiids. Linyphiidae includes no fewer than 15 species of Laminacauda and three of Neomaso (with several additional undescribed species in the latter genus), all of them

The relationships of the hyline tribe Dendropsophini remain poorly studied, with most published analyses dealing with few of the species groups of Dendropsophus. In order to test the monophyly of Dendropsophini, its genera, and the species groups currently recognized in Dendropsophus, we performed a total evidence phylogenetic analysis. The molecular dataset included sequences of three mitochondrial

Burmese amber and amber from other periods and regions became a rich source of new extinct insect species and yielded important insights in insect evolution in the dimension of time. Amber fossils have contributed to the understanding of the phylogeny, biology, and biogeography of insects and other groups, and have also gained great importance for dating molecular trees. Another major potential is

Within the hyperdiverse beetle family Staphylinidae, Dasycerinae is one of the smallest and most cryptic subfamilies, comprising a sole extant genus characterized by a latridiid beetle‐like body form. Little has been known about their early diversification, character evolution, phylogeny and historical biogeography because of limited fossil material and lack of a phylogeny integrating extant and extinct

In the rush to understand the coronaviruses that threaten human health, authors of many prominent papers have not performed phylogenetic analyses to the standard of the field today. Errors include faulty placement of the root of the phylogeny, outdated methods of reconstruction, poor taxon sampling, inappropriate emphasis on selected functional elements, and inadequate consideration of ambiguity. As

What are considered fundamental principles within the Willi Hennig Society and published in their journal are not always fully appreciated by many other biological fields that have not been schooled in these disciplines of systematics principles and the reasons for why these principles are important (Wenzel, Cladistics, 2020, in press). Natural history museums and their associated programs have been

Here, we publish Lepisorus sect. Paragramma (Blume) C.F. Zhao, R. Wei & X.C. Zhang as a combinatio nova to replace the section name in Zhao et al. (2020), which was published as a status nova and turned out to be an invalid name, because we cited an incorrect basionym. A revised infrageneric classification of Lepisorus also is proposed.

Freshwater mussels are a species‐rich group with biodiversity patterns strongly shaped by a life history strategy that includes an obligate parasitic larval stage. In this study, we set out to reconstruct the life history evolution and systematics in a clade of freshwater mussels adapted to parasitizing a molluscivorous host fish. Anchored hybrid enrichment and ancestral character reconstruction revealed

With the advent of high‐resolution and cost‐effective genomics and bioinformatics tools and methods contributing to a large database of both human (HAdV) and simian (SAdV) adenoviruses, a genomics‐based re‐evaluation of their taxonomy is warranted. Interest in these particular adenoviruses is growing in part due to the applications of both in gene transfer protocols, including gene therapy and vaccines

Chaetonotidae is the most diverse and widely distributed family of the order Chaetonotida (Gastrotricha) and includes both marine and freshwater species. Although the family is regarded as a sister taxon to the exclusively marine Xenotrichulidae, the type of environment, marine or freshwater, where Chaetonotidae originated is still not known. Here, we reconstructed the phylogeny of the family based

Recent technical advances combined with novel computational approaches have promised the acceleration of our understanding of the tree of life. However, when it comes to hyperdiverse and poorly known groups of invertebrates, studies are still scarce. As published phylogenies will be rarely challenged by future taxonomists, careful attention must be paid to potential analytical bias. We present the

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pathogenic strains of bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), adversely impacts personal and public health. In this study, we examine competing hypotheses for the evolution of AMR including (i) ‘genetic capitalism’ in which genotypes that confer antibiotic resistance are gained and not often lost in lineages, and (ii) ‘stabilizing selection’ in which genotypes

In the trapdoor spider genus Euoplos Rainbow & Pulleine (tribe Euoplini), it was discovered recently that two divergent lineages occur in sympatry in eastern Australia. This challenged the monogeneric classification of the tribe and, in combination with inadequate taxonomic descriptions of some species, precluded comprehensive taxonomic revision. To resolve these issues, we conducted a total‐evidence

We used a bi‐organellar phylogenomic approach to address higher‐order relationships in Pandanales, including the first molecular phylogenetic study of the panama‐hat family, Cyclanthaceae. Our genus‐level study of plastid and mitochondrial gene sets includes a comprehensive sampling of photosynthetic lineages across the order, and provides a framework for investigating clade ages, biogeographic hypotheses

In order to place a newly discovered species Antigracilus costatus gen. sp. n. from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (China) and to assess previously unplaced fossil taxa, we investigated the relationships of extant and extinct lineages of Histeridae based on three data sets: (i) 69 morphological characters belonging to 48 taxa (representing all 11 subfamilies and 15 of 17 tribes of modern Histeridae);

The eusporangiate marattialean ferns represent an ancient radiation with a rich fossil record but limited modern diversity in the tropics. The long evolutionary history without close extant relatives has confounded studies of the phylogenetic origin, rooting and timing of marattialean ferns. Here we present new complete plastid genomes of six marattialean species and compiled a plastid genome dataset

Temperate South American–Asian disjunct distributions are the most unusual in organisms, and challenging to explain. Here, we address the origin of this unusual disjunction in Lardizabalaceae using explicit models and molecular data. The family (c.40 species distributed in ten genera) also provides an opportunity to explore the historical assembly of East Asian subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests

The first two fossil species of the canthyloscelid genus Synneuron are described based on compression wings. Synneuron eomontana sp. nov. is described from the Middle Eocene Coal Creek Member of the Kishenehn Formation, in the USA, and Synneuron jelli sp. nov. is described from the Lower Cretaceous Koonwarra Fossil Bed of the Korumburra Group, in Australia. The wings are illustrated and compared to

The South American and West Indian Casque‐headed Treefrogs (Hylidae: Hylinae: Lophyohylini) include 85 species. These are notably diverse in morphology (e.g. disparate levels of cranial hyperossification) and life history (e.g. different reproductive modes, chemical defences), have a wide distribution, and occupy habitats from the tropical rainforests to semiarid scrubland. In this paper, we present

Variations of speciation and extinction rates determine the fate of clades through time. Periods of high diversification and extinction (possibly mass‐extinction events) can punctuate the evolutionary history of various clades, but they remain loosely defined for many biological groups, especially nonmarine invertebrates like insects. Here, we examine whether the cockroaches, mantises and termites

The connection between monophyly and efficient taxonomic diagnoses is elaborated. The inefficiency of nonmonophyletic groups is shown by reconstructing data matrices from hierarchical sets of diagnoses that are derived from apomorphies and read in order from highest to lowest rank. The practice of diagnosing nonmonophyletic groups either results in omitting data, resulting in errors in reconstructed

As an ancient lineage of ferns, Ophioglossaceae are evolutionarily among the most fascinating because they have the highest chromosome count of any known organism as well as the presence of sporophores, subterranean gametophytes, eusporangiate sporangia without annuli, and endophytic fungi. Previous studies have produced conflicting results, identifyingsome lineages with unresolved relationships, and

Alopoglossidae is a family of Neotropical lizards composed of 23 species allocated in two genera (Alopoglossus and Ptychoglossus). There is a lack of knowledge about the phylogenetic relationships and systematics of this family. Published phylogenies that include alopoglossid species have very low taxon coverage within the family, and are usually based on limited character sampling. Considering these

Contemporary phylogenomic studies frequently incorporate two‐step coalescent analyses wherein the first step is to infer individual‐gene trees, generally using maximum‐likelihood implemented in the popular programs PhyML or RAxML. Four concerns with this approach are that these programs only present a single fully resolved gene tree to the user despite potential for ambiguous support, insufficient

With approximately 3000 marine species, Tunicata represents the most disparate subtaxon of Chordata. Molecular phylogenetic studies support Tunicata as sister taxon to Craniota, rendering it pivotal to understanding craniate evolution. Although successively more molecular data have become available to resolve internal tunicate phylogenetic relationships, phenotypic data have not been utilized consistently

A cladistic analysis of the Tegulinae (Turbinidae) is presented using 132 morphological characters and 41 taxa. Tegulinae is recovered and is sister to Prisogaster niger (Prisogasterinae) within the family Turbinidae. This scenario, with Tegulinae as a subfamily within Turbinidae, corroborates with the most molecular analyses. Tegulinae comprises >40 extant species, belonging to eight genera. Morphological

The fern genus Lepisorus represents one of the most complicated and controversial lineages in Polypodiaceae, with about 80 species which have been classified into several separate genera, and is notorious for its taxonomic difficulty. Despite progress in recent phylogenetic studies of the family Polypodiaceae involving Lepisorus and its allies, the deep phylogenetic relationship within this group of

Recent disease outbreaks have raised awareness of tropical pathogens, especially mosquito‐borne viruses. Dengue virus (DENV) is a widely studied mammalian pathogen transmitted by various species of mosquito in the genus Aedes, especially Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The prevailing view of the research community is that endemic viral lineages that cause epidemics of DENV in humans have emerged

Classifications in the world's tropics often involve an early and sustained adoption of Holarctic‐based patterns. Such is the case of the megadiverse subtribe Philonthina and its Neotropical (NT) members, for which generic limits are ill‐defined due to an alleged high level of homoplasy. Although a recent total‐evidence study confirmed the monophyly of a NT lineage, most of its species are assigned

A cladistic analysis of the Tegulinae (Turbinidae) is presented using 132 morphological characters and 41 taxa. Tegulinae is recovered and is sister to Prisogaster niger (Prisogasterinae) within the family Turbinidae. This scenario, with Tegulinae as a subfamily within Turbinidae, corroborates most molecular analyses. Tegulinae comprises >40 extant species belonging to eight genera. Morphological studies

A new generic name, Rexiella, is published to replace the recently published name Rexia S. Stenroos, Pino‐Bodas and Ahti, which turned out to be an illegitimate later homonym of the cyanobacterial genus Rexia D. A. Casamatta, S. R. Gomez and J. R. Johansen.

Ronald Brady was the first philosopher to defend pattern cladistics as an independent scientific field. That independence was achieved through the decoupling of biological systematics from phylogenetics––that is, inferred evolutionary processes (e.g. character transformation). Brady saw parallels between biological systematics and Wolfgang von Goethe's Morphology, an empirical scientific field that

The thelypteroid fern genus Stegnogramma s.l. contains around 18–35 species and has a global, cross‐continental distribution ranging from tropical to temperate regions. Several genera and infrageneric sections have been recognized previously in Stegnogramma s.l., but their phylogenetic relationships are still unclear. In this study, we present a global phylogeny of Stegnogramma s.l. with the most comprehensive

As one of the four main lineages diverging from the early diversification of land plants, the phylogeny of liverworts holds the information about nearly 500 Myr of independent adaptation to changing environments. Thus, resolving the phylogenetic history of liverworts will provide unique insights into the successful diversification of early land plants in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the deep diverging

Archaeognatha (Machilida plus †Monura), with ~450 extant species worldwide, represent a key lineage for the understanding of insect evolution. In a recently published phylogenetic analysis on Archaeognatha, based on a total‐evidence approach, a Machilidae key fossil (Gigamachilis triassicus) from the Middle Triassic Lagerstätte of Monte San Giorgio and a representative of †Monura (Dasyleptus triassicus)

The infrageneric relationships and taxonomy of the largest fern genus, Asplenium (Aspleniaceae), have remained poorly understood. Previous studies have focused mainly on specific species complexes involving a few or dozens of species only, or have achieved a large taxon sampling but only one plastid marker was used. In the present study, DNA sequences from six plastid markers (atpB, rbcL, rps4, rps4‐trnS

Major geological processes have shaped biogeographical patterns of riverine biota. The Edwards Plateau of central Texas, USA, exhibits unique aquatic communities and endemism, including several species of freshwater mussels. Lampsilis bracteata (Gould, 1855) is endemic to the Edwards Plateau region; however, its phylogenetic relationship with other species in the Gulf coastal rivers and Mississippi

Climate fluctuations and tectonic reconfigurations associated with environmental changes play large roles in determining patterns of adaptation and diversification, but studies documenting how such drivers have shaped the evolutionary history and diversification dynamics of limnic organisms during the Mesozoic are scarce. Members of the heteropteran infraorder Nepomorpha, or aquatic bugs, are ideal

We present a new phylogeny of the spider family Araneidae based on five genes (28S, 18S, COI, H3 and 16S) for 158 taxa, identified and mainly sequenced by us. This includes 25 outgroups and 133 araneid ingroups representing the subfamilies Zygiellinae Simon, 1929, Nephilinae Simon, 1894, and the typical araneids, here informally named the “ARA Clade”. The araneid genera analysed here include roughly

We present the largest comparative biogeographical analysis that has complete coverage of Australia's geography (20 phytogeographical subregions), using the most complete published molecular phylogenies to date of large Australian plant clades (Acacia, Banksia and the eucalypts). Two distinct sets of areas within the Australian flora were recovered, using distributional data from the Australasian Virtual

A likelihood method that approximates the behaviour of implied weighting is described. This approach provides a likelihood perspective on several aspects of implied weighting, such as guidance for the choice of concavity values, a justification to use different concavities for different numbers of taxa, and a natural basis for extended implied weighting. In this approach, the number of free parameters

The genus Echiniscus C.A.S. Schultze, 1840, one of the earliest established and speciose tardigrade genera, has been hypothesized to be polyphyletic. Moreover, the presence or absence of trunk appendages, the type of cuticular sculpturing and body colour have been argued to hold taxonomic significance at the genus level in Echiniscus‐line taxa. Here, by combining morphological and genetic analyses

This paper reviews the ontogeny of pattern cladistics from the 1970s and 1980s, rebuts criticisms by contemporary anti‐cladists, and endeavours to clarify persistent misunderstandings about the philosophical foundations of the approach.

If a community and its substrate are raised by tectonic uplift, the species present can either die out in the area, survive in situ unchanged, or survive in situ with adaptation and differentiation. The large‐scale passive uplift of plant and animal populations during mountain‐building is accepted in a growing number of studies, but the idea has seldom been examined critically. If passive uplift does