When Giant Stick Insects Play With Colors: Molecular Phylogeny of the Achriopterini and Description of Two New Splendid Species (Phasmatodea: Achrioptera) From Madagascar

Old World and New World Phasmatodea: Phylogenomics Resolve the Evolutionary History of Stick and Leaf Insects

“…A monophyletic Malagasy clade comprises Anisacanthidae (Paranisacantha), Achriopterini (Achrioptera), Antongiliinae (Antongilia), and Phasmatidae taxa incertae sedis (Spathomorpha), with the former two and the latter two forming sister taxa in accordance with previous results (Bradler et al, 2015;Goldberg et al, 2015;Büscher et al, 2018;Robertson et al, 2018;Glaw et al, 2019). Closely related Malagasy stick insects were only recently suggested but not recovered as monophyletic when certain African taxa were included that are lacking in the present analysis (Bradler et al, 2015;Robertson et al, 2018).…”

Reconstructing the nonadaptive radiation of an ancient lineage of ground‐dwelling stick insects (Phasmatodea: Heteropterygidae)

“…The evolutionary history of stick and leaf insects, commonly referred to as the insect order Phasmatodea, appears to be strongly shaped by convergent evolution as a consequence of repeated adaptive radiations in geographic isolation as has been revealed for the stick insect faunas of Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Madagascar and the Mascarene archipelago (Buckley et al ., 2009, 2010; Bradler et al ., 2015; Glaw et al ., 2019; Simon et al ., 2019). Thus, similar morphological forms as well as behavioural traits (Robertson et al ., 2018) were often acquired independently due to similar selective pressures associated with adaptations to the same habitat in separate geographic areas.…”

“…According to the phylogenetic studies of Heteropterygidae based on morphological data (Klante, 1976; Bradler, 2009), Dataminae are the sister group to Heteropteryginae + Obriminae. This combination is favoured by only one molecular analysis (Bradler et al ., 2015), whereas other studies hypothesize either Heteropteryginae + (Dataminae + Obriminae) (Zompro, 2004; Goldberg et al ., 2015; Glaw et al ., 2019) or Obriminae + (Dataminae + Heteropteryginae) (Robertson et al ., 2018; Büscher et al ., 2018a; Simon et al ., 2019; Forni et al ., 2020). The lack of a robust phylogeny for the Heteropterygidae impedes the reconstruction of its biogeographic history as well as the evolution of certain key traits such as wings or secondary ovipositors within this group.…”

“…Molecular phylogenetic studies have been useful for revising the problematic traditional classification of Phasmatodea and have substantiated several taxonomic groups (Buckley et al ., 2009; Bradler et al ., 2015; Robertson et al ., 2018; Glaw et al ., 2019). Even the uncertain phylogenetic relationships between the major phasmatodean lineages were recently resolved by a phylogenomic analysis based on transcriptomic data (Simon et al ., 2019).…”

Revisão taxonômica e análise filogenética de Paraphasma Redtenbacher, 1906 (Phasmatodea: Pseudophasmatidae: Stratocleinae)

“…Além dos aspectos citados acima, que justificaram e favoreceram a realização da revisão taxonômica aqui apresentada, a execução de uma análise filogenética de Paraphasma com base em dados morfológicos também foi motivada pelos fatos de que: (1) a grande maioria das análises cladísticas realizadas até hoje em Phasmatodea basearam-se somente em dados moleculares (ver Whiting et al 2003;Buckley et al 2009;Kômoto et al 2011;Bradler et al 2014Bradler et al , 2015Goldberg et al 2015;Büscher et al 2018;Robertson et al 2018;Glaw et al 2019); e (2) os estudos filogenéticos na ordem quase sempre focaram nas relações entre táxons de categorias supragenéricas (com exceção de apenas dois trabalhos sobre o gênero Agathemera - Dominguez et al 2009e Vera et al 2012. Assim, este é um dos primeiros estudos a investigar as relações filogenéticas em um gênero de bichos-paus, e o primeiro em um gênero de Pseudophasmatidae, buscando para isso explorar o potencial taxonômico da ainda pouco conhecida genitália masculina de Phasmatodea.…”