Diversity and distribution of Pleioplectron Hutton cave wētā (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae: Macropathinae), with the synonymy of Weta Chopard and the description of seven new species

Hegg, Danilo; Morgan‐Richards, Mary; Trewick, Steven A.

doi:10.5852/ejt.2019.577

Cited by 823 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 13 publications

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“…Individual specimens were identified using a combination of apical spines, characteristic male and female terminalia and body dimensions with reference to [27,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. Specimens were stored in 98% ethanol before DNA extraction.…”

Section: Taxa and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossil-calibrated phylogenies of Southern cave wētā show dispersal and extinction confound biogeographic signal

Dowle,

Trewick,

Morgan-Richards

2024

R. Soc. Open Sci.

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The biota of continents and islands are commonly considered to have a source–sink relationship, but small islands can harbour distinctive taxa. The distribution of four monotypic genera of Orthoptera on young subantarctic islands indicates a role for long-distance dispersal and extinction. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred from whole mtDNA genomes and nuclear sequences (45S cassette; four histones). We used a fossil and one palaeogeographic event to calibrate molecular clock analysis. We confirm that neither the Australian nor Aotearoa-New Zealand Rhaphidophoridae faunas are monophyletic. The radiation of Macropathinae may have begun in the late Jurassic, but trans-oceanic dispersal is required to explain the current distribution of some lineages within this subfamily. Dating the most recent common ancestor of seven island endemic species with their nearest mainland relative suggests that each existed long before their island home was available. Time estimates from our fossil-calibrated molecular clock analysis suggest several lineages have not been detected on mainland New Zealand, Australia, or elsewhere most probably due to their extinction, providing evidence that patterns of extinction, which are not consistently linked to range size or lineage age, confound biogeographic signal.

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Section: Taxa and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossil-calibrated phylogenies of Southern cave wētā show dispersal and extinction confound biogeographic signal

Dowle,

Trewick,

Morgan-Richards

2024

R. Soc. Open Sci.

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Ecology and systematics of the wine wētā and allied species, with description of four new Hemiandrus species

Trewick

Taylor-Smith²,

Morgan‐Richards

2020

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

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Molecular phylogenetics illuminates evolutionary history and hidden diversity of Australian cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae)

Beasley-Hall,

Trewick,

Eberhard

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae) are a globally distributed group of insects found in dark, humid microhabitats including natural caves, alpine scree, and forest litter. Ten extant subfamilies are currently described and Macropathinae, which comprises the entirety of the fauna in South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, is thought to be the most ancient of these. The New Zealand rhaphidophorid fauna supports high phylogenetic diversity throughout its mesic zone, with most species occurring above-ground. In contrast, the Australian fauna is poorly known, with an apparently greater relative proportion of species utilising caves as refugia. A robust phylogenetic framework is needed to underpin future taxonomic work on the group and potentially contrasting patterns of taxonomic diversity within Macropathinae. Here, we performed fossil-calibrated phylogenetic analysis using whole mitochondrial genomes and nuclear markers to reconstruct the evolutionary history of Macropathinae, with a focus on the Australian fauna. By dramatically increasing taxon sampling relative to past studies, we recover the Australian fauna as rampantly polyphyletic, with the remaining Macropathinae nested amongst six distinct Australian lineages. Deep divergences between major clades imply additional Australian lineages remain undetected, either due to extinction or sampling bias, and have likely confounded past biogeographic signal. We infer the radiation of Macropathinae began during the Lower Jurassic prior to the fragmentation of Gondwana with a potential Pangaean origin for Rhaphidophoridae. Finally, we find evidence for several undescribed taxa of Australian Rhaphidophoridae, all of which qualify as short-range endemics, and discuss the conservation implications of these restricted distributions.

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Diversity and distribution of Pleioplectron Hutton cave wētā (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae: Macropathinae), with the synonymy of Weta Chopard and the description of seven new species

Cited by 823 publications

References 13 publications

Fossil-calibrated phylogenies of Southern cave wētā show dispersal and extinction confound biogeographic signal

Fossil-calibrated phylogenies of Southern cave wētā show dispersal and extinction confound biogeographic signal

Ecology and systematics of the wine wētā and allied species, with description of four new Hemiandrus species

Molecular phylogenetics illuminates evolutionary history and hidden diversity of Australian cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae)

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