Old origin for an European‐African amphitropical disjunction pattern: New insights from a case study on wingless darkling beetles

Abstract

Aim:The origin of the amphitropic Mediterranean Basin and southern African disjunction (European-African amphitropical disjunction; EAAD) pattern is generally attributed to recent dispersal events. However, our knowledge is limited because the origin of the EAAD pattern has been almost exclusively studied in plants. Here, we investigate the origin of this wide-ranging disjunction pattern in a group of wingless insects, consisting of two major clades, both of which have EAAD distributions.Location: Sub-Saharan Africa and Mediterranean region.Taxon: Tribe Dendarini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Methods:We reconstructed a dated molecular phylogeny of major lineages within Dendarini using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. The employed dataset included sequences of six genes (two mitochondrial and four nuclear fragments) generated for 72 species. To investigate the sequence and timing leading to present-day wideranging disjunction patterns, we conducted parametric historical biogeography analyses. Results:The dated phylogenetic framework supports the monophyly of all major Dendarini lineages and highlights the origin of the tribe in sub-Saharan Africa during the Middle Eocene. From there, representatives of the two major lineages colonized the Mediterranean region at the Oligocene-Miocene boundary, with one lineage first reaching North Africa, whilst the other reached southern Europe. Main conclusions:The origin of the EAAD in Dendarini beetles is ancient and better explained by the progressive fragmentation of the pan-African rainforest that started in the Early Eocene than by other scenarios. This and the increased aridification associated with the global long-term cooling trend that took place at that time had a strong influence on the diversification and distribution of xerophilic organisms such as dendarine beetles.This challenges the understanding of the origin of EAAD patterns, highlighting that they do not only result from recent dispersal events between the Pliocene and Pleistocene.

Evolution, systematics and historical biogeography of Palparini and Palparidiini antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae): Old origin and in situ diversification in Southern Africa

“…Overall, our results suggest that Southern Africa acted as both a cradle of diversification and a source of repeated episodes of northern dispersals. Although limitations of our dataset exist with regard to branch support, the biogeographic history recovered for Palparini seems credible as it matches ‘out‐of‐Southern Africa’ patterns previously documented in several insect lineages adapted to open habitats (e.g., Eberle et al, 2017; Kamiński et al, 2022). Of particular interest in the case of palparine antlions is the fact that their old age contrasts with the younger ages found for other insect groups.…”

“…g., Eberle et al, 2017;Kami nski et al, 2022). Of particular interest in the case of palparine antlions is the fact that their old age contrasts with the younger ages found for other insect groups.…”

“…During the Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT), a major climate shift from a greenhouse to an icehouse climate occurred (Zachos et al, 2001, 2008). These cooler temperatures were associated with more arid conditions, leading to the fragmentation of the Afrotropical rainforest and making way for more open habitats (Bouchenak‐Khelladi, Muasya, & Linder, 2014; Bouchenak‐Khelladi, Verboom, Savolainen, & Hodkinson, 2010; Pound & Salzmann, 2017), which potentially acted as corridors for dispersal (e.g., see Kamiński, Smith, Kanda, Iwan, & Kergoat, 2022 for a group of xerophilic beetles). All these environmental changes potentially facilitated the spread of groups adapted to open habitats such as Palparini.…”

Late Cenozoic environmental changes drove the diversification of a weevil genus endemic to the Cape Floristic Region

“…Divergence times were estimated using Bayesian relaxed clocks as implemented in BEAST v1.10.4 (Suchard et al, 2018) through the CIPRES Science Gateway v3.3 (Miller et al, 2010; http://www.phylo.org). We relied on secondary calibrations based on substitution rates from the study of Andújar et al (2012) on Coleoptera; these rates have been often used for secondary calibration in diverse beetle groups (e.g., Caterino & Langton‐Myers, 2018; Faille et al, 2013; Haran et al, 2021; Kamiński et al, 2022; Toussaint et al 2017). Two clocks were used; one for the mitochondrial and one for the nuclear genes.…”

Phylogenomics of darkling beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) from the Atacama Desert

“…One of the limitations of all of these phylogenetic reconstructions is the lack of comprehensive sampling of lineages from southern Africa and southern South America. Both Southern Africa and South America each have a highly conspicuous tenebrionid fauna including several endemic tribes ( e.g., Carrara & Flores , 2015 ; Koch, 1962 ; Kuschel, 1969 ; Matthews et al, 2010 ; Kamiński et al, 2021 ) and contain two of the oldest and driest deserts in the world, the Namib and Atacama Deserts ( Clarke, 2006 ; Goudie & Eckardt, 1999 ) where tenebrionids represent one of the most abundant insect groups.…”