Pythiopina, an enigmatic subtribe of darkling beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Pedinini): taxonomic revision, microtomography, ecological niche models and phylogenetic position

Abstract

Morphological, anatomical, and distributional data concerning the South African endemic beetle subtribe Pythiopina (Tenebrionidae: Pedinini) are revised. Five species, representing two genera, are recognized. Included in this total is one new species (Meglyphus mariae Kamiński sp.n.). The following species are placed in synonymy: Meglyphus ciliatipes [=Meglyphus calitzensis syn.n.]; Meglyphus laenoides [=Meglyphus andreaei syn.n.; =Meglyphus namaqua syn.n.].Microtomographic models for all valid Pythiopina species, including the holotype of the newly described species, are presented and analysed. Endoskeleton morphology (specifically characters of the tentorium and metendosternite) proved to be informative at the specific and generic levels. An identification key is provided to all known species of the subtribe. Environmental niche models are presented for the majority of species. A molecular phylogeny of Pedinini based on six genetic loci (28S: D1-D3 region; 28S: D4-D5 region, COII, ArgK, CAD2, wg) was also produced to explore the phylogenetic position of Pythiopina. This analysis is the first to include representatives of all seven subtribes of Pedinini, and supports a sister relationship between Pythiopina and the Palaearctic subtribe Dendarina. Results also suggest the existence of a second pair of sister taxa within Pedinini (in addition to Melambiina) with an amphitropical African distribution.This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid: zoobank.org:pub

Reevaluation of Blapimorpha and Opatrinae: addressing a major phylogeny‐classification gap in darkling beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Blaptinae)

“…Darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae Latreille) represent one of the most diverse insect families, with over 20 000 described species (Matthews et al ., 2010). As a result of their worldwide distribution and common xerophily, darkling beetles have been used in a variety of biogeographic studies (Fattorini, 2002a,b; Fattorini & Fowles, 2005; Condamine et al, 2013; Kamiński, 2015; Kamiński et al ., 2018; Johnston, 2019). Currently, the family is subdivided into 10 subfamilies: the nine proposed in Matthews et al .…”

“…(2014) and Kanda (2017) tested some of the higher level (i.e., subfamily) problems within Tenebrionidae, their scope and taxon sampling did not provide enough data to test the concepts of Blapimorpha and Opatrinae by themselves. Recent phylogenetic efforts based on molecular data from independent research groups from China, France, Poland and the United States have provided some insights into the relationships within some of the most commonly included tribes within Blapimorpha and Opatrinae: Amphidorini (Johnston, 2019), Blaptini (Condamine et al ., 2011, 2013; Soldati et al ., 2017), Platyscelidini (Bai et al ., 2019), Dendarini, Pedinini, Platynotini and Opatrini (Kamiński et al ., 2018, 2019a; Lumen et al ., 2020). This has resulted in a diverse dataset of DNA sequences which when combined, provide a unique opportunity to test the historically morphologically based concepts of Blapimorpha and Opatrinae with molecular data.…”

Immature stages of beetles representing the ‘Opatrinoid’ clade (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae): an overview of current knowledge of the larval morphology and some resulting taxonomic notes on Blapstinina

“…However, due to a lack of phylogenetic studies concerning opatrinoid beetles, all of the above-mentioned papers have dealt with slightly different, paraphyletic entities [Opatrinae sensu Koch (1956) or Medvedev (1968)]. A phylogeny-based classification of the 'Opatrinoid' clade was introduced recently (Iwan and Kamiński 2016;Kamiński et al 2018aKamiński et al , 2019. This reclassification provided an opportunity to revise the available knowledge on larval morphology in a new context.…”

Molecular insights into the phylogeny of Blapstinina (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Opatrini)

“…A close affiliation between the latter three tribes and Opatrini has recently been revealed in the works of Kamiński et al . (, ,b). Voucher specimens are deposited in the entomological collections of the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (MIZ PAS), Kojun Kanda (KKIC), Aaron D. Smith (ADSC) and Ryan Lumen (RLIC).…”

“…Five gene regions were amplified using PCR: nuclear protein‐coding genes carbamoyl‐phosphate synthetase domain of rudimentary (CAD) (738 bp), wingless ( wg ) (438 bp), arginine kinase (ArgK) (668 bp), mitochondrial protein‐coding cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) (650 bp) and nuclear ribosomal 28S (1077 bp). These regions were chosen because, when concatenated, they recovered a strongly supported phylogeny for relationships within the sister group to Opatrini, Platyonotini + Pedinini (Kamiński et al ., , ). Polymerase chain reactions were performed using ExTaq (Takara, Mountain View, CA, U.S.A.) with primers and thermocycler protocols as given in Kanda et al .…”