Phylogenetic relationships within Hesionidae Grube, 1850 are assessed via maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses of mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S rRNA) and nuclear (18S rRNA, and 28S rRNA) data. The analyses are based on 42 hesionid species; six of these being new species that are described here. The new species, all from deep (>200 m depth) benthic environments (including whale falls) in the eastern Pacific, are Gyptis shannonae, sp. nov., Neogyptis julii, sp. nov., Sirsoe sirikos, sp. nov., Vrijenhoekia ketea, sp. nov., Vrijenhoekia falenothiras, sp. nov., and Vrijenhoekia ahabi, sp. nov. The molecular divergence among the new members of Vrijenhoekia is pronounced enough to consider them cryptic species, even though we cannot distinguish among them morphologically. Our results also showed that the subfamily Hesioninae Grube, 1850, as traditionally delineated, was paraphyletic. We thus restrict Hesioninae to include only Hesionini Grube, 1850 and refer the remaining members to Psamathinae Pleijel, 1998. The present study increases the number of hesionid species associated with whale falls from one to six and markedly increases the number of described deep-sea hesionid taxa. There appear to have been multiple colonisations of the deep sea from shallow waters by hesionids, though further sampling is warranted.

Phylogenetic relationships within the superfamily Lycosoidea are investigated through the coding and analysis of character data derived from morphology, behaviour and DNA sequences. In total, 61 terminal taxa were studied, representing most of the major groups of the RTA-clade (i.e. spiders that have a retrolateral tibial apophysis on the male palp). Parsimony and model-based approaches were used, and several support values, partitions and implied weighting schemes were explored to assess clade stability. The morphological–behavioural matrix comprised 96 characters, and four gene fragments were used: 28S (∼737 base pairs), actin (∼371 base pairs), COI (∼630 base pairs) and H3 (∼354 base pairs). Major conclusions of the phylogenetic analysis include: the concept of Lycosoidea is restricted to seven families: Lycosidae, Pisauridae, Ctenidae, Psechridae, Thomisidae, Oxyopidae (but Ctenidae and Pisauridae are not monophyletic) and also Trechaleidae (not included in the analysis); the monophyly of the ‘Oval Calamistrum clade’ (OC-clade) appears to be unequivocal, with high support, and encompassing the Lycosoidea plus the relimited Zoropsidae and the proposed new family Udubidae (fam. nov.); Zoropsidae is considered as senior synonym of Tengellidae and Zorocratidae (syn. nov.); Viridasiinae (rank nov.) is raised from subfamily to family rank, excluded from the Ctenidae and placed in Dionycha. Our quantitative phylogenetic analysis confirms the synonymy of Halidae with Pisauridae. The grate-shaped tapetum appears independently at least three times and has a complex evolutionary history, with several reversions.

The Tenthredinoidea is the most diverse superfamily of non-apocritan Hymenoptera. It is also one of the largest herbivorous groups within the order, some species having substantial economic impact. Until very recently, no comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of the superfamily had been undertaken. This paper presents the largest morphological dataset assembled so far for elucidating the phylogeny of the Tenthredinoidea. In total, 129 taxa were scored for 146 characters from the adult head, thorax, wings and ovipositor apparatus. The emphasis of the taxon sample is on Tenthredinidae (104 terminals), which is by far the largest family in the Tenthredinoidea. The results of the cladistic analyses confirm the monophyly of the Tenthredinoidea, the first split being between the Blasticotomidae and the remaining families (Tenthredinoidea s. str., also monophyletic), and the monophyly of all families except Tenthredinidae. The analyses fail to consistently retrieve any of the six currently recognised subfamilies within Tenthredinidae, although core clades of Heterarthrinae, Nematinae, Selandriinae and Tenthredininae are often supported. Diprionidae are placed inside the Nematinae under some weighting conditions. The failure to corroborate the tenthredinid subfamilies might be ascribed to an insufficient character/terminal ratio, but also to problems with the existing classification. Inclusion of characters from the male genitalia and the larval stages as well as molecular data currently being assembled will hopefully lead to a more robust classification of the Tenthredinidae in the future.

A late Holocene but prehistoric carabid beetle fauna from the lowland Makauwahi Cave, Kauai, is characterised. Seven extinct species – Blackburnia burneyi, B. cryptipes, B. godzilla, B. menehune, B. mothra, B. ovata and B. rugosa, spp. nov. (tribe Platynini) – represent the first Hawaiian insect species to be newly described from subfossil specimens. Four extant Blackburnia spp. – B. aterrima (Sharp), B. bryophila Liebherr, B. pavida (Sharp), and B. posticata (Sharp) – and three extant species of tribe Bembidiini – Bembidion ignicola Blackburn, B. pacificum Sharp and Tachys oahuensis Blackburn – are also represented. All subfossil fragments are disarticulated, with physical dimensions and cladistic analysis used to associate the major somites – head, prothorax and elytra – for description of the new species. The seven new Makauwahi Cave species support recognition of a lowland area of endemism adjoining Haupu, a low-stature 700 m elevation ridgeline in southern Kauai. Four of the extinct Blackburnia are adelphotaxa to extant species currently found at higher elevations in Kauai. Addition of these lowland specialists to the phylogenetic hypothesis undercuts applicability of the taxon cycle for interpreting evolutionary history of these taxa. Two of the extinct species are Kauai representatives in clades that subsequently colonised younger Hawaiian Islands, enhancing support for the progressive biogeographic colonisation of the archipelago by this lineage. And three of the extinct Blackburnia species comprised larger beetles than those of any extant Kauai Blackburnia, consistent with the evolution of island gigantism in the lowland habitats of Kauai.