The first molecular phylogeny of Lynceus (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Laevicaudata) is presented together with a description of a new species of laevicaudatan branchiopod from Chile, Lynceus huentelauquensis, sp. nov. DNA sequences were obtained from six species of Lynceus using freshly collected specimens from Europe, North America, South America, and Australia and combined with GenBank sequences from previous studies. Specimens of the new species were collected from a pool on the Huentelauquén Plains near Huentelauquén City. Our molecular analyses placed L. huentelauquensis, sp. nov. within Lynceus and close to a cluster of Australian species, and revealed morphological misidentifications, cross-contamination, or incorrect upload in earlier GenBank sequences. L. huentelauquensis, sp. nov. is separated from other Lynceus primarily by the morphology of the rostrum and the male claspers. L. huentelauquensis, sp. nov. is the first described laevicaudatan from Chile, the sixth from South America, and the 13th from the Americas. The morphology of laevicaudatans from the Americas is reviewed and an updated key to the (male) Lynceidae of the region is provided. Our study highlights the necessity of a revision of Laevicaudata using multiple genetic markers as well as thorough morphological studies on a greater number of taxa.

Australia and Southeast Asia are hotspots of global diversity in the fruit-fly genus Bactrocera. Although a great diversity of species has been long recognised, evolutionary relationships are poorly understood, largely because previous sequencing techniques have provided insufficient historical signal for phylogenetic reconstruction. Poorly understood biogeographic history in Bactrocera has prevented a deeper understanding of migratory patterns in this economically important pest group. Using representatives from Australia and Malaysia, we tested the utility of a genome-reduction approach that generates thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms for phylogenetic reconstructions. This approach has high utility for species identification because of the ease of sample addition over time, and the species-level specificity able to be achieved with the markers. These data have provided a strongly supported phylogenetic tree congruent with topologies generated using more intensive sequencing approaches. In addition, our results do not support taxonomic assignments to species complex for a number of species, such as B. endiandrae in the dorsalis complex, yet find a close relationship between B. pallida and the dorsalis species. Our data have further validated non-monophyletic evolution of male response to primary attractants. We also showed at least two diversification events between Australia and Southeast Asia, indicating trans-regional dispersal in important pest species.

In Australia, climate change and continental drift have given rise to a complex biota comprising mesic specialists, arid-adapted lineages, and taxa that have arrived on the continent from Asia. We explore the phylogenetic diversity and biogeographic history of the Australian trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 that is widespread in Australia’s monsoonal tropics and arid zone. We sequenced three mtDNA and five nuDNA markers from 224 specimens. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships among specimens and estimated the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) using species delimitation methods. The timing of divergences was estimated and ancestral area reconstructions were conducted. We recovered 61 OTUs, grouped into four major clades; a single clade represented by an arboreal ecomorph, and three fossorial clades. The Australian Conothele had a crown age of ∼19 million years, and ancestral area reconstructions showed a complex history with multiple transitions among the monsoonal tropics, central arid zone, south-west and Pilbara bioregion. Conothele arrived on the continent during periods of biotic exchange with Asia. Since then, Conothele has colonised much of the Australian arid and monsoonal zones, during a period of climatic instability. The Pilbara bioregion harbours high lineage diversity, emphasising the role of climate refugia.

The genus Calisto is endemic to the West Indies and the only representative there of the Satyrinae. Here we reconstruct the evolutionary relationships of the herophile group and describe five new species from Cuba: Calisto gundlachi sp. nov., Calisto siguanensis sp. nov., Calisto disjunctus sp. nov., Calisto sharkeyae sp. nov. and Calisto lastrai sp. nov. We employ one mitochondrial and four nuclear markers to assess the phylogenetic position, Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference approaches, of the new taxa. Our phylogenetic trees yielded two strongly supported main clades with four of the new species included within them and C. sharkeyae as sister group to the rest of the major main clade. We conduct time-divergence estimations and ancestral area reconstructions using BEAST and BioGeoBEARS. The group originated 12.15 million years ago during the middle Miocene in north-eastern Cuba, Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa Massif. After 6 million years of in situ evolution most lineages started to colonise other Cuban territories and the Bahamas. This scenario is consistent with key geological events, including the closure of the western Havana–Matanzas channel 8–6 million years ago, the uplift of the Sierra Maestra 6–5 million years ago, and the land connections among Cuban regions during the Miocene–Pleistocene sea level drops. Dispersal and vicariance processes may have occurred, with populations surviving floodings on the major and minor mountain ranges, which remained as ‘islands’.

DNA sequence data and phylogenies are useful tools for species delimitation, especially in taxa comprising cryptic species. The Lepidocyrtus lanuginosus species group (Collembola: Entomobryidae) comprises three morphospecies and distinct cryptic species. We applied three DNA-based methods to delimit species boundaries in the L. lanuginosus species group across central and southern Europe. Using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and II, we identified gaps of genetic distances that indicate species boundaries and found 10 and 9 distinct genetic lineages in L. cyaneus and L. lanuginosus, respectively. The nuclear gene elongation factor 1-α delimited 89% of the lineages but 28S rDNA (D1–2 domain) was too conserved for this purpose. The phylogenetic trees showed that L. cyaneus and L. lanuginosus are polyphyletic, suggesting that body colour is insufficient for delimiting species in the L. lanuginosus species group. Our study challenges the current morphology-based species delimitation in the L. lanuginosus species group and suggests that molecular approaches are needed for fast and accurate determination of Collembola species in both taxonomic and ecological studies. Overall, the results suggest that wide geographic sampling combined with molecular phylogenetic approaches is needed to delimit species and to understand the full range of cryptic diversity in Collembola.

Thripidae, one of the largest families of Thysanoptera, is widely distributed throughout the world. To explore the phylogenetic relationships and current classification of Thripidae, a cladistic analysis is presented based on 117 morphological characters scored from 114 species representing 94 genera. This analysis was used to reconstruct the ancestral feeding habits of Thripidae, with the result that leaf-feeding is recognised as ancestral within this family, and flower-feeding derived. Thripidae is recovered as a monophyletic group, but the three subfamilies Dendrothripinae, Sericothripinae and Panchaetothripinae are all recovered as nested within the fourth and major subfamily Thripinae. Sericothripinae is related to the Scirtothrips genus-group in Thripinae, but a close relationship to Echinothrips is not supported. Intergeneric relationships within Dendrothripinae are relatively well resolved. Three tribes in Panchaetothripinae are not monophyletic but Tryphactothripini genera form a clade with Panchaetothrips. Subfamily Thripinae is paraphyletic, but includes several monophyletic genus-groups (Rhamphothrips genus-group, Trichromothrips genus-group, Thrips genus-group, Frankliniella genus-group, Chirothrips genus-group). Relationships within the Thrips genus-group are poorly resolved, presumably due to a high degree of homoplasy. Five genera (Amomothrips, Moundinothrips, Smilothrips, Ctenothrips and Sciothrips) are placed into the Taeniothrips genus-group, and three genera (Salpingothrips, Tusothrips and Chaetanaphothrips) are proposed as the Chaetanaphothrips genus-group. The previously accepted Anaphothrips genus-group and Mycterothrips genus-group are not recovered, presumably because the supporting characters are merely superficial resemblance with no phylogenetic significance. This work resolves the systematic relationships among most thripid genera, as well as providing a morphological background for the evolution of Thripidae.