On the phylogeny and evolution of Mesozoic and extant lineages of Adephaga (Coleoptera, Insecta)

Abstract

The relationships of extant and extinct lineages of Adephaga were analysed formally for the first time. Emphasis is placed on the aquatic and semiaquatic groups and their evolution in the Mesozoic. †Triadogyrus and †Mesodineutus belong to Gyrinidae, the sister group of the remaining families. †Triaplidae are the sister group of the following groups (Haliplidae, Geadephaga, Dytiscoidea incl. †Liadytidae, †Parahygrobiidae and †Coptoclavidae [major part]). The lack of a ventral procoxal joint and a very short prosternal process are plesiomorphies of †Triaplidae. †Coptoclavidae and †Timarchopsinae are paraphyletic. †Timarchopsis is placed in a geadephagan clade. In contrast to other coptoclavids, its metathorax is close to the condition found in Haliplidae, with a complete transverse ridge and coxae with large plates and free mesal walls. †Coptoclavidae s.str., i.e. excl. †Timarchopsis, is a dytiscoid subgroup. The mesal metacoxal walls are fused, the coxal plates are reduced, and the transverse ridge is absent. †Stygeonectes belongs to this dytiscoid coptoclavid unit and is therefore misplaced in †Timarchopsinae. †Liadytidae belongs to a dytiscoid subgroup, which also comprises the extant families Aspidytidae, Amphizoidae, Hygrobiidae and Dytiscidae. †Parahygrobia is the sister group of Hygrobiidae. The larvae are characterized by a broad gula, the absence of the lacinia, retractile maxillary bases and very long urogomphi set with long setae. †Liadytiscinae is the sister group of extant Dytiscidae. There is no support for a clade †Eodromeinae and for Trachypachidae incl. †Eodromeinae. †Fortiseode is nested within Carabidae. The exclusion of fossil taxa has no effect on the branching pattern. The evolution of Adephaga in the Mesozoic is discussed. Possible reasons for the extinction of †Coptoclavidae are the rise of teleost fish and the competition of Gyrinidae and Dytiscidae, which possess efficient defensive glands and larval mandibular sucking channels.

Molecular phylogeny of the highly disjunct cliff water beetles from South Africa and China (Coleoptera: Aspidytidae)

“…A subdivision of Dytiscoidea into clades comprising Noteridae + Meruidae and the remaining groups is in agreement with previous studies (e.g. Balke et al ., ; Beutel et al ., ). In contrast, a sister‐group relationship between Dytiscidae and a clade containing the three small families Hygrobiidae, Aspidytidae and Amphizoidae, as recovered here, is a novel and unorthodox result.…”

“…However, these are likely to represent plesiomorphic character states (at least the transverse suture) retained from the groundplan of Dytiscoidea (e.g. Beutel et al ., ). Interestingly, a re‐examination of larval features has revealed that the larva of the Chinese species is strikingly similar to those of Amphizoidae, even though A. niobe is recovered as closer to Amphizoa in the analyses of combined or the mitochondrial DNA data (not so in the analyses of nuclear genes, where S. wrasei is sister to Amphizoidae).…”

“…(), and a morphology‐based phylogeny of extant and fossil Adephaga by Beutel et al . (). Although these efforts place adephagan aquatic families among the best studied groups of beetles, our understanding of their phylogenetic relationships remains incomplete.…”

The unique locomotor apparatus of whirligig beetles of the tribe Orectochilini (Gyrinidae, Coleoptera)

“…The systematic position of the family within the suborder Adephaga is not fully settled (e.g., McKenna et al., ). However, a sister group relationship with all other adephagan families appears most likely, supported by morphological characters (Beutel & Roughley, ; Beutel et al., ) and also by a recent molecular study (Baca, Alana, Gustafson, & Short, ).…”

New morphological aspects and phylogenetic considerations of Cicindis Bruch (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindini)

“…10 1 ). A representative species of the family Trachypachidae, regarded as the sister taxon of Carabidae in previous works (Erwin 1985, Beutel 1998, Kavanaugh 1998, RoigJuñent 1998, was used to root the tree.…”