Phylogeny and classification of Cucujoidea and the recognition of a new superfamily Coccinelloidea (Coleoptera: Cucujiformia)

Abstract

Abstract.A large-scale phylogenetic study is presented for Cucujoidea (Coleoptera), a diverse superfamily of beetles that historically has been taxonomically difficult. This study is the most comprehensive analysis of cucujoid taxa to date, with DNA sequence data sampled from eight genes (four nuclear, four mitochondrial) for 384 coleopteran taxa, including exemplars of 35 (of 37) families and 289 genera of Cucujoidea. Maximum-likelihood analyses of these data present many significant relationships, some proposed previously and some novel. Tenebrionoidea and Lymexyloidea are recovered together and Cleroidea forms the sister group to this clade. Chrysomeloidea and Curculionoidea are recovered as sister taxa and this clade (Phytophaga) forms the sister group to the core Cucujoidea (Cucujoidea s.n.). The nitidulid series is recovered as the earliest-diverging core cucujoid lineage, although the earliest divergences among core Cucujoidea are only weakly supported. The cerylonid series (CS) is recovered as monophyletic and is supported as a major Cucujiform clade, sister group to the remaining superfamilies of Cucujiformia. Currently recognized taxa that were not recovered as monophyletic include Cucujoidea, Endomychidae, Cerylonidae and Bothrideridae. Biphyllidae and Byturidae were recovered in Cleroidea. The remaining Cucujoidea were recovered in two disparate major clades: one comprising the nitidulid series + erotylid series + Boganiidae and Hobartiidae + cucujid series, and the other comprising the cerylonid series. Propalticidae are recovered within Laemophloeidae. The cerylonid series includes two major clades, the bothriderid group and the coccinellid group. Akalyptoischiidae are recovered as a separate clade from Latridiidae. Eupsilobiinae are recovered as the sister taxon to Coccinellidae. In light of these findings, many formal changes to cucujiform beetle classification are proposed. Biphyllidae and Byturidae are transferred to Cleroidea. The cerylonid series is formally recognized as a new superfamily,

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“…In the present study, Coccinelloidea is either sister to all other Cucujiformia (under BI) or sister to Tenebrionoidea (under ML). Other molecular phylogenetic studies also recover the polyphyly of Cucujoidea, for example Hunt et al (2007), Marvaldi et al (2009), Robertson (2010 and Robertson et al (2015). Although the extensively taxon-sampled studies of Hunt et al (2007) and Bocak et al (2014) recover a polyphyletic or paraphyletic Phytophaga, it appears highly likely that this informal grouping is monophyletic (as in the present study), and its constituent superfamilies (Chrysomeloidea and Curculionoidea) are monophyletic sister groups.…”

“…However, Hunt et al (2007) and Robertson et al (2015) reach the same conclusions, and the polyphyly of these families has been suspected based on morphological evidence (Ślipiński, 1990;Lawrence, 1991a;Ślipiński & Pakaluk, 1991). The current definitions of these three families are formally revised in light of these findings in Robertson et al (2015). The two exemplars of Latridiidae, representing the two recognized subfamilies, were recovered together with strong nodal support.…”

“…Most Cucujoidea (in the traditional broad sense of the superfamily) were recovered in one of two large clades. One clade contained the Cerylonid Series of families (Akalyptoischiidae, Alexiidae, Bothrideridae, Cerylonidae, Coccinellidae, Corylophidae, Discolomatidae, Endomychidae and Latridiidae) (Figs 2, 11; Figure S2), here called Coccinelloidea, following Robertson et al (2015) and the other clade contained the remaining Cucujoidea (Figs 2, 12; Figure S2; here called Cucujoidea s.s.), except Biphyllidae and Byturidae, which were recovered within Cleroidea (Figs 2, 13; Figure S2) (see below for more information). Coccinelloidea was monophyletic in both the ML and BI trees, with mostly moderate MLB support.…”

Combined molecular and morphological data provide insights into the evolution and classification of Chilocorini ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

“…This relationship is indicated for the first time here, as previous phylogenetic studies have placed Chilocorini as sister group to Coccinellini (Magro et al, 2010;Seago et al, 2011;Robertson et al, 2015;Che et al, 2017). However, in the analyses of Magro et al (2010) and Che et al (2017), no specimen of Plotinini was included, while Robertson et al (2015) recovered Chilocorini + Coccinellini as the sister to a clade comprising Plotinini and Sticholotis. Meanwhile, the position of Plotinini within Coccinellidae was unclear in the results of Seago et al (2011).…”

“…However, the group also includes phytophagous and mycophagous clades (Giorgi et al, 2009). Coccinellidae is classified in the superfamily Coccinelloidea, separated from Cucujoidea by Robertson et al (2015). The taxonomic status of this superfamily was also supported by the latest phylogenetic study of Coleoptera based on the analysis of 95 protein-coding genes in 373 beetle species (Zhang et al, 2018).…”