Cladistic biogeography of the Neotropical region: identifying the main events in the diversification of the terrestrial biota

Unraveling Biogeographic Boundaries Within the Sierra Madre Oriental, México: An Endemicity Analysis Using a Taxonomically Diverse Dataset

The Sierra Madre Oriental (SMO) is a significant mountain range and one of Mexico's 14 biogeographical provinces. Its delimitation has been debated. This study aims to analyze the distribution of plants, beetles, odonates, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals using an endemicity analysis to identify endemism areas and confirm the SMO's biogeographical units. Georeferenced data for 326 species distributed in the Sierra Madre Oriental were compiled using QGIS software, and an endemicity analysis (EA) was carried out with NDM-VNDM to evaluate taxon distribution congruence in predefined grids. Different grid sizes and specific parameters were used to identify areas of endemism, with an Endemicity Index (EI) assigned to measure the consistency of these areas. Six main areas of endemism (EA) were identified: two in the northern region and four in the southern region of the SMO. These areas are supported by several taxa, except mammals, which did not significantly contribute to the identified AEs. The study suggests new boundaries within the SMO, establishing the Rio Verde as the natural barrier in the north rather than the Moctezuma River. The multi-taxonomic analysis supports dividing the SMO into two subprovinces, proposing a new delimitation based on the distribution of species with different dispersal capacities. This new regionalization can be useful for prioritizing conservation areas and designing more effective strategies. Future research should include more distribution data of mammals and birds to strengthen these results and better define the subprovinces and biogeographical districts of the SMO.

Testing the efficiency of passive acoustic monitoring and active monitoring in anuran community in lotic environments in Itinguçu State Park, Peruíbe-SP

The following work presents the first study applying the passive acoustic monitoring of anurans at lotic environments for a long time. This study aims to test the efficiency of the passive acoustic monitoring method and active monitoring in detecting anurans in lotic environments of Itinguçu State Park. Specifically, we tested whether species richness differs when comparing active and passive monitoring surveys. Therefore, this study aims to test the efficiency of the passive acoustic monitoring method and active monitoring in detecting anurans in lotic environments of the Itinguçu State Park. The passive acoustic monitoring period was 72 uninterrupted hours at each collection point with intervals of 45 days. Finally, species richness was calculated, and the efficiency of the methods was compared in different scenarios. Our results demonstrated that the park has species that vocalize day and night, but most at night, there is overlapping acoustic niche; waterfall environments harm the quality of recordings; and in lotic environments the active monitoring method was more efficient than the passive acoustic monitoring in all sampling scales. Although the passive acoustic monitoring was not as efficient in a low temporal scale, it tends to increase in efficiency with longer sampling duration.

On the Mexican trapdoor spiders: description of a new species of the spider genus Eucteniza Ausserer (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Euctenizidae) from the western coast of Mexico

The trapdoor spider genus Eucteniza Ausserer, 1875 is distributed in North America, with most diversity in Mexico. In this work, a new species is described from the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve, Jalisco, Mexico: Eucteniza cuixmala sp. nov., was collected from a dry tropical deciduous forest in the western coast of Mexico. The species is described only from the male holotype. Of the 14 species of Eucteniza described so far, eight have been described based only on the male holotype. The description of this new species increases the diversity of the genus to 15 known species, 14 of which are found in Mexico, two in the USA, and one in both countries: E. relata (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1895). In addition, we provide an amended taxonomic identification key for males of the genus.

A new species of the spider genus Ochyrocera Simon (Araneae, Ochyroceratidae) from Mexico, with biogeographical comments and an updated identification key for Mexican species

A new species of the spider genus Ochyrocera Simon, 1891 is described from southern Mexico. Males and females of Ochyrocera marialuisae sp. nov. were collected from a cave in Oaxaca, Mexico. With the description of the new species herein, the species diversity of the genus from Mexico increases to eight species. In addition, biogeographical comments about the distribution of the species, an updated taxonomic identification key, and a distribution map for the Mexican species are provided.

Reevaluation of the status of the Central American brocket deer Mazama temama (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) subspecies based on morphological and environmental evidence

The Central American brocket deer (Mazama temama) is widespread across the Mesoamerican forests, yet it remains largely unknown. Three subspecies are recognized currently within M. temama using pelage coloration as the primary diagnostic character. However, it remains unclear if there is any pattern of morphological variation throughout its distribution. We compared two models of morphological subdivision, namely the traditional subspecies and another based on biogeographic provinces via 2D geometric morphometrics and ecological niche modeling. The second model presented a better fit to the observed variation in cranial shape and size. We found divergence in skull size between individuals from Mexico and Guatemala (northern group) relative to specimens from Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama (southern group), the latter being 8% larger than the northern group. Centroid size showed a significant correlation with geographic distance suggesting an isolation-by-distance pattern. Low geographical overlap between the two clusters suggests niche conservatism. Late Pleistocene dispersal from South to Central America and differences in available resources with subsequent isolation due to climatic barriers therefore may have promoted differentiation in size albeit without extensive changes in shape. In this context, the Motagua-Polochic-Jolotán fault system probably plays a key role in promoting morphological differentiation by climatic isolation. Finally, we suggest that M. t. temama (Kerr, 1792) and M. t. reperticia  Goldman, 1913 should remain as valid names for the two morphological and ecologically differentiated groups detected here.

Biogeography and Diversification of Bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with Emphasis on Neotropical Species

A detailed phylogeny of bumblebees is urgently needed to understand speciation and biogeographic diversification in the Neotropical region. We sequenced autosomal and mtDNA loci from nine Brazilian bumblebee species and compiled it with the data already available to obtain highly resolved phylogenetic trees with fossil-calibrated dates. The ancestral Bombus lineage was estimated to diversify between 47.08 and 34.27 million years ago (Ma) in the Holarctic region, but largely restricted to the eastern Old World. The Neotropical region was initially colonized in the Late Miocene, where bumblebee diversification was shown to be consistent with geologic and climatic events of the Late Cenozoic. Neotropical bumblebees likely originated from Nearctic lineages, which dispersed towards South America after 29 Ma.

Comparative phylogeography among eight Neotropical wild cat species: no single evolutionary pattern

The felid species of South America are thought to have arrived on the continent during the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) in the Pleistocene. However, molecular and palaeontological data do not agree on how this event affected speciation in felids. Here, we determine both the number of colonization events and the period when felines first migrated from North America to South America. In addition, we evaluate whether similar evolutionary events could have affected the eight Neotropical cat species in their levels of genetic diversity, spatial genetic structure and demographic changes. We analysed four concatenated mitochondrial genes of the jaguar, ocelot, margay, tigrina, pampas cat, Andean cat, puma and jaguarundi. The samples were representative of a wide distribution of these species in Central and South America. Our analysis suggests either three or four colonization events from North America to South America over the past 3 Myr, followed by subsequent speciation events and the attainment of high or very high genetic diversity levels for seven of the species. No unique evolutionary process was detected for any of the current Neotropical cat species.

Geodispersal of the Typical Neotropical cenocron from South America to the Mexican Transition Zone: a cladistic biogeographical test

Analysis of the biotic assembly of the Mexican Transition Zone (MTZ) is challenging because of the convergence of taxa with different origins and biogeographical histories. The typical Neotropical cenocron corresponds to genera widespread in South America that might have dispersed to the MTZ in the Pliocene–Holocene. It has been exemplified with distributional patterns of several plant and animal taxa; however, their historical congruence has not been tested. We examined the historical relationships among the areas of endemism where Typical Neotropical taxa are found through a cladistic biogeographical analysis to determine whether they have dispersed simultaneously, showing a geodispersal pattern. We searched for Neotropical clades that dispersed to the MTZ from the Pliocene to the present. The distribution of nine animal clades in seven areas of endemism was analysed by cladistic biogeography. Redundant areas and widespread taxa were treated with paralogy-free and transparent methods. Patterns of area relationships were searched using a parsimony analysis of paralogy-free subtrees. The parsimony analysis found a single resolved tree showing a general pattern of area relationships: (Chacoan ((South Brazilian (Boreal Brazilian + Lesser Antilles)), (South American Pacific (Mesoamerican-Central America + Western Mexico)))). Distributional and phylogenetic information on the groups analysed contrast with a previous cladistic biogeographical analysis that has shown different area relationships, thus supporting the general hypothesis of a geodispersal event of the Typical Neotropical cenocron in the MTZ. Additionally, the analysis provided evidence of vicariant events related to the lifting of the Northern Andes and climatic changes during the Pleistocene.

Mesoamerica is a cradle and the Atlantic Forest is a museum of Neotropical butterfly diversity: insights from the evolution and biogeography of Brassolini (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Regional species diversity is explained ultimately by speciation, extinction and dispersal. Here, we estimate dispersal and speciation rates of Neotropical butterflies to propose an explanation for the distribution and diversity of extant species. We focused on the tribe Brassolini (owl butterflies and allies), a Neotropical group that comprises 17 genera and 108 species, most of them endemic to rainforest biomes. We inferred a robust species tree using the multispecies coalescent framework and a dataset including molecular and morphological characters. This formed the basis for three changes in Brassolini classification: (1) Naropina syn. nov. is subsumed within Brassolina; (2) Aponarope syn. nov. is subsumed within Narope; and (3) Selenophanes orgetorix comb. nov. is reassigned from Catoblepia to Selenophanes. By applying biogeographical stochastic mapping, we found contrasting species diversification and dispersal dynamics across rainforest biomes, which might be explained, in part, by the geological and environmental history of each bioregion. Our results revealed a mosaic of biome-specific evolutionary histories within the Neotropics, where butterfly species have diversified rapidly (cradles: Mesoamerica), have accumulated gradually (museums: Atlantic Forest) or have diversified and accumulated alternately (Amazonia). Our study contributes evidence from a major butterfly lineage that the Neotropics are a museum and a cradle of species diversity.

Phylogeny, divergence times, and diversification in Calophyllaceae: Linking key characters and habitat changes to the evolution of Neotropical Calophylleae

The clusioid clade comprises five monophyletic families: Bonnetiaceae, Calophyllaceae, Clusiaceae s.s., Hypericaceae, and Podostemaceae. Even though the circumscription of these families is well established, phylogenetic relationships within some families remain unresolved. This study aims to infer phylogenetic relationships within the Neotropical Calophylleae based on a broad sampling of taxa and a multilocus approach. We then use our phylogenetic framework as basis to investigate the evolution and biogeography of Calophylleae and diversification shifts in Calophyllaceae. To reconstruct the phylogeny of the Neotropical Calophylleae, we used five plastid (matK, ndhF, rbcL, psbA-trnH, and trnK), two mitochondrial (matR and rps3), and two nuclear (EMB2765 and ITS) markers, including previously published and newly generated sequences. We sampled 74 species, increasing sampling of Neotropical taxa by 500%. Our phylogenetic hypothesis for Calophyllaceae provides additional support for the monophyly of all genera and allowed us to identify four main clades: Calophyllum, Kayea, Mammea, and the Neotropical clade. The Neotropical clade includes three main lineages, a small clade composed of Clusiella and Marila, and a large HaCaKi clade (i.e., Haplocarpa, Caraipa, and Kilmeyera) that is sister to Mahurea exstipulata. The evolution of three morphological traits (i.e., fleshy fruits, anther glands, and winged seeds) were shown to be associated with changes in evolutionary dynamics in Calophyllaceae, while a biome shift was detected in Kielmeyera, affecting net diversification within this genus. Major geological and climatic events such as the Andean uplift and a gradual decrease in temperatures seem to have influenced diversification rates within the Neotropical Calophylleae.

Metabarcoding advances for ecology and biogeography of Neotropical protists: what do we know, where do we go?

Abstract: The Neotropics is one of the most diverse regions of the globe in terms of plants and animal species. Regarding the microbial world, however, little is known about the diversity and biogeography patterns of microorganisms in the Neotropics. The biogeography of several microbial taxonomic groups is still missing and/or incomplete, such as the protists. Despite the hard taxonomic identification of protists, the advance of molecular techniques (e.g., metabarcoding) have allowed to better explore the distribution of several protistan groups. Our goal here was to summarize the available information of Neotropical protists, focusing on metabarcoding studies, to explore what these data evidence on their ecology and biogeography. For this, we reviewed the findings from all articles that focused on or included the terrestrial protists using a metabarcoding approach and identified the gaps and future perspectives in this research field. We found that Neotropical protistan diversity patterns seem to be, at least in part, congruent with that of macro-organisms and, different than plants and bacteria, just weakly explained by environmental variables. We argue that studies with standardized protocols including different ecoregions are necessary, such as temperate forests, grasslands, and savannas from Southern of South America and Northern Atlantic Forest, to fully characterize the ecology and biogeography on Neotropical protists. Furthermore, dismembering evolutionary lineages and functional guilds of protists are important to better understand the relationship between diversity, dispersal abilities, and functionality of particular taxa of protists in their habitats.

A Survey of Neotropiella Handschin, 1942 (Collembola, Neanuridae, Pseudachorutinae) with the Description of a New Brazilian Species

Neotropiella Handschin, 1942 is a pantropical genus of Pseudachorutinae with 18 species, 16 of which are from the Neotropical Region and 13 from Brazil. The genus has several species with unclear descriptions. Herein, we describe a new species of Neotropiella, survey the genus based on published papers and discuss its morphology, providing an updated genus diagnosis plus a detailed comparison table and a key to all known species. Neotropiella arretada sp. nov. is unique in the combination of a postantennal organ with 14-20 vesicles, its mandible with five teeth, its maxilla apically pointed and its unguis with a pair of reduced teeth. Widely distributed taxa may be species complexes, especially due to their unclear descriptions.

To be biased or to be Neotropical: systematic reassessment of a megadiverse lineage of rove-beetles (Philonthina, Staphylinini, Staphylininae)

Classifications in the world's tropics often involve an early and sustained adoption of Holarctic-based patterns. Such is the case of the megadiverse subtribe Philonthina and its Neotropical (NT) members, for which generic limits are ill-defined due to an alleged high level of homoplasy. Although a recent total-evidence study confirmed the monophyly of a NT lineage, most of its species are assigned to the speciose genera Belonuchus Nordmann and Paederomimus Sharp, neither of them monophyletic. Here, we aim to reveal internal relationships within the NT lineage by the reassessment of characters from traditional morphology-based systematics. Specific objectives are to test the monophyly of Belonuchus with regards to its only junior synonym, Musicoderus Sharp, as well as the placement of the six South American species of Hesperus Fauvel, a genus of Holarctic origin. We performed a phylogenetic analysis of the subtribe with focus on its NT lineage based on 132 morphological characters (50 of them novel) including 79 taxa from genera and/or species groups relevant to our study. Most novel characters assessed herein supported clades across Philonthina and its NT lineage. We found that the NT lineage diversified into at least seven clades, each of which provides a framework for future taxonomic studies. Among them, three clades containing the type species of Belonuchus, Paederomimus and Musicoderus (respectively) appear to be well supported and not closely related. The currently known South American species of Hesperus, however, are recovered within the NT lineage. We propose to resurrect Musicoderus from synonymy with Belonuchus and to transfer Hesperus novoteutonicus to Paederomimus as a new combination: Paederomimus novoteutonicus (Wendeler), comb.n.

Direct analysis of vicariance in Neotropical mayflies (Ephemeroptera)

The distribution of aquatic insects has been poorly explored in quantitative analyses aiming at the historical reconstruction of area relationships in the Neotropics. Ephemeroptera is an ancient group, characterized by its low vagility, and of high richness and endemicity in this region. Systematic knowledge of the group has enormously increased in the last decades, achieving a sufficient background to explore biogeographical historical patterns. Our aim is to reconstruct area history in the Neotropics using the rationale of Barrier biogeography (Hovenkamp protocol). We present eleven mayfly phylogenies, representing groups that evolved independently at least from the Jurassic (i.e., not a one-taxon history). With these groups, we conducted independent biogeographical analyses (using Vicariance Inference Program), and extracted the events that repeated in two or more clades. We found fifty-eight TVEs (Traceable Vicariant Events), from which four were found at least twice, thus constituting SVEs (Supported Vicariant Events).

Distributional patterns of Neotropical seasonally dry forest birds: a biogeographical regionalization

Neotropical seasonally dry forests (NSDFs) are widely distributed and possess high levels of species richness and endemism; however, their biogeography remains only partially understood. Using species distribution modelling and parsimony analysis of endemicity, we analysed the distributional patterns of the NSDF avifauna in order to identify their areas of endemism and provide a better understanding of the historical relationships among those areas. The strict consensus trees revealed 17 areas of endemism for NSDFs, which involve four large regions: Baja California, Caribbean-Antilles islands, Mesoamerica and South America. These well-resolved clades are circumscribed by geographical and ecological barriers associated with the Gulf of California, the leading edge of the Caribbean plate, the Tehuantepec Isthmus, the Polochic-Motagua fault, the Nicaragua Depression, the Chocó forest, the Amazon basin and the Andean Cordillera. Relationships among groups of NSDFs found here suggest that evolution of their avifauna involved a mixture of vicariance and dispersal events. Our results support the idea of independent diversification patterns and biogeographical processes in each region, including those previously associated with the Pleistocene Arc Hypothesis for NSDFs of south-eastern South America. This study provides a biogeographical framework to open new lines of research related to the biotic diversification of NSDFs.

Primer registro de <em>Exochomus bolivianus</em> Mader, 1957 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) en el Perú

Exochomus bolivianus Mader, 1957, una especie conocida solo del holotipo hembra y de la localidad tipo, Bolivia, es reportada por primera vez en el Perú. Se describe al macho de la especie y se actualiza la distribución de la misma.

Seed size evolution and biogeography of Plukenetia (Euphorbiaceae), a pantropical genus with traditionally cultivated oilseed species

BACKGROUND

Plukenetia is a small pantropical genus of lianas and vines with variably sized edible oil-rich seeds that presents an ideal system to investigate neotropical and pantropical diversification patterns and seed size evolution. We assessed the biogeography and seed evolution of Plukenetia through phylogenetic analyses of a 5069 character molecular dataset comprising five nuclear and two plastid markers for 86 terminals in subtribe Plukenetiinae (representing 20 of ~ 23 Plukenetia species). Two nuclear genes, KEA1 and TEB, were used for phylogenetic reconstruction for the first time. Our goals were: (1) produce a robust, time-dependent evolutionary framework for Plukenetia using BEAST; (2) reconstruct its biogeographical history with ancestral range estimation in BIOGEOBEARS; (3) define seed size categories; (4) identify patterns of seed size evolution using ancestral state estimation; and (5) conduct regression analyses with putative drivers of seed size using the threshold model.

RESULTS

Plukenetia was resolved into two major groups, which we refer to as the pinnately- and palmately-veined clades. Our analyses suggest Plukenetia originated in the Amazon or Atlantic Forest of Brazil during the Oligocene (28.7 Mya) and migrated/dispersed between those regions and Central America/Mexico throughout the Miocene. Trans-oceanic dispersals explain the pantropical distribution of Plukenetia, including from the Amazon to Africa in the Early Miocene (17.4 Mya), followed by Africa to Madagascar and Africa to Southeast Asia in the Late Miocene (9.4 Mya) and Pliocene (4.5 Mya), respectively. We infer a single origin of large seeds in the ancestor of Plukenetia. Seed size fits a Brownian motion model of trait evolution and is moderately to strongly associated with plant size, fruit type/dispersal syndrome, and seedling ecology. Biome shifts were not drivers of seed size, although there was a weak association with a transition to fire prone semi-arid savannas.

CONCLUSIONS

The major relationships among the species of Plukenetia are now well-resolved. Our biogeographical analyses support growing evidence that many pantropical distributions developed by periodic trans-oceanic dispersals throughout the Miocene and Pliocene. Selection on a combination of traits contributed to seed size variation, while movement between forest edge/light gap and canopy niches likely contributed to the seed size extremes in Plukenetia.

Conceptual and empirical advances in Neotropical biodiversity research

The unparalleled biodiversity found in the American tropics (the Neotropics) has attracted the attention of naturalists for centuries. Despite major advances in recent years in our understanding of the origin and diversification of many Neotropical taxa and biotic regions, many questions remain to be answered. Additional biological and geological data are still needed, as well as methodological advances that are capable of bridging these research fields. In this review, aimed primarily at advanced students and early-career scientists, we introduce the concept of "trans-disciplinary biogeography," which refers to the integration of data from multiple areas of research in biology (e.g., community ecology, phylogeography, systematics, historical biogeography) and Earth and the physical sciences (e.g., geology, climatology, palaeontology), as a means to reconstruct the giant puzzle of Neotropical biodiversity and evolution in space and time. We caution against extrapolating results derived from the study of one or a few taxa to convey general scenarios of Neotropical evolution and landscape formation. We urge more coordination and integration of data and ideas among disciplines, transcending their traditional boundaries, as a basis for advancing tomorrow's ground-breaking research. Our review highlights the great opportunities for studying the Neotropical biota to understand the evolution of life.

Phylogeography of the gall-inducing micromoth Eucecidoses minutanus Brèthes (Cecidosidae) reveals lineage diversification associated with the Neotropical Peripampasic Orogenic Arc

We investigated the molecular phylogenetic divergence and historical biogeography of the gall-inducing micromoth Eucecidoses minutanus Brèthes (Cecidosidae) in the Neotropical region, which inhabits a wide range and has a particular life history associated with Schinus L. (Anacardiaceae). We characterize patterns of genetic variation based on 2.7 kb of mitochondrial DNA sequences in populations from the Parana Forest, Araucaria Forest, Pampean, Chacoan and Monte provinces. We found that the distribution pattern coincides with the Peripampasic orogenic arc, with most populations occurring in the mountainous areas located east of the Andes and on the Atlantic coast. The phylogeny revealed a marked geographically structured differentiation, which highlights a first split into two major clades: western (Monte and Chacoan) and eastern (Pampean and coastal forests). Together with AMOVA and network analysis, phylogeny revealed the existence of six well-defined lineages, which are isolated by distance. The TMRCA for Eucecidoses was estimated at ca. 65 Mya, and the divergence among major clades occurred by the Plio-Pleistocene ca. 20-25 Mya, with the extant six lineages emerging about 0.9 to 5.7 Mya (later than the rise of Schinus). These results are associated with a diversification pattern of either a late burst of speciation or early extinction. Population range expansion for some lineages concurring with major climatic changes that occurred during the wet-dry events of the Pleistocene in the region was recovered in both neutrality tests and past dynamics through time analysis. A possible biogeographic scenario reconstructed suggests that Eucecidoses likely emerged from a central meta-population in the south and later dispersed (ca. 38 Mya) using western and eastern as two major routes. Thus, a combination of dispersal and vicariance events that occurred in the ancestral populations might have shaped the current distribution of extant lineages. Speciation driven by host plant shift is potentially involved in the evolutionary history of Eucecidoses.

Solaropsis brasiliana, anatomy, range extension and its phylogenetic position within Pleurodontidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Stylommatophora)

A detailed anatomical revision on Solaropsis brasiliana (Deshayes 1832) has been carried out. New characters on shell, anatomy of soft parts, and a review of the genus distribution in South America, as well as clarification on S. brasiliana distributional area are provided in the present study. Solaropsis brasiliana is diagnosed by its globose, solid, and hirsute shell, with periphery obsoletely angular, bursa copulatrix with a thick, long diverticulum, a thick, long flagellum and a penis retractor muscle forked, with the vas deferens passing through it. This compiled information was used to test the phylogenetic position of S. brasiliana within South American Pleurodontidae through a cladistics analysis. In the phylogenetic hypothesis obtained, S. brasiliana is sister group of S. gibboni (Pfeiffer 1846) and the monophyly of the genus Solaropsis Beck is also supported. Here, we sustain that the distribution of S. brasiliana is restricted to Brazil, inhabiting the States of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Bahia and Minas Gerais.

An endangered new species of seasonal killifish of the genus Austrolebias (Cyprinodontiformes: Aplocheiloidei) from the Bermejo river basin in the Western Chacoan Region

Austrolebias wichi, new species, is herein described from seasonal ponds of the Bermejo river basin in the Western Chacoan district in northwestern Argentina. This species was found in a single pond, a paleochannel of the Bermejo River, which is seriously disturbed by soybean plantations surrounding it. Despite intensive sampling in the area, this species was only registered in this pond where it was relatively scarce. Therefore, we consider this species as critically endangered. This species is the sister species of A. patriciae in our phylogenetic analyses and is similar, in a general external aspect, to A. varzeae and A. carvalhoi. It can be distinguished among the species of Austrolebias by its unique color pattern in males. Additionally, from A. varzeae by presenting a supraorbital band equal or longer than the infraorbital band (vs. shorter) and from A. patriciae by the convex dorsal profile of head (vs. concave). Further diagnostic characters and additional comments on its ecology and reproduction are provided.

Integrative taxonomy reveals a new genus and new species of Philosciidae (Crustacea: Isopoda: Oniscidea) from the Neotropical region

Although new methods and data are conquering space in the field of taxonomy, such as integrative taxonomy, most terrestrial isopod species are still described based only on morphology. Species of the genus Atlantoscia Ferrara and Taiti, 1981 were the first and are the unique terrestrial isopods from the Neotropics for which a molecular phylogeny was already conducted. Previous results indicated that this genus could be paraphyletic, and a more detailed analysis would be required. Our aim was to reconstruct the phylogeny of Atlantoscia using mitochondrial and nuclear markers and test its monophyly by integrating molecular and morphological data. We observed that, indeed, Atlantoscia is paraphyletic. Atlantoscia ituberasensis Campos-Filho, Lisboa and Araujo, 2013 and Atlantoscia rubromarginata Araujo and Leistikow, 1999 were placed in a new genus of terrestrial isopods, Paratlantoscia gen. nov., together with a new species described in the present study, Paratlantoscia robusta sp. nov. The new genus is defined by the presence of specialized respiratory areas in the pleopod exopods and its validity is highly corroborated by molecular analyses and by biogeographic information. This study highlights the importance of multiple and complementary perspectives as a way to improve the quality of species hypothesis and associated descriptions.

Light from dark: A relictual troglobite reveals a broader ancestral distribution for kimulid harvestmen (Opiliones: Laniatores: Kimulidae) in South America

A new troglobitic harvestman, Relictopiolus galadriel gen. nov et sp. nov., is described from Olhos d'Água cave, Itacarambi, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Morphological characters, including male genitalia and exomorphology, suggest that this species belongs to the family Kimulidae, and it appears to share the greatest similarities with Tegipiolus pachypus. Bayesian inference analyses of a molecular dataset strongly support the inclusion of this species in Kimulidae and confirm the hypothesized sister-group relationship between R. galadriel and T. pachypus. A time calibrated phylogeny indicates that these sister-taxa diverged from a common ancestor approximately 40 Mya, during the Paleogene. The current range of Kimulidae illustrates a remarkable disjunct distribution, and leads us to hypothesize that the ancestral distribution of Kimulidae was once much more widespread across eastern Brazil. This may be attributed to the Eocene radiation associated with the warming (and humidifying) events in the Cenozoic when the best conditions for evergreen tropical vegetation in South America were established and followed by the extinction of kimulid epigean populations together with the retraction of rain forests during the Oligocene to Miocene cooling. The discovery of this relictual troglobite indicates that the Olhos d'Água cave was a stable refugium for this ancient lineage of kimulids and acted as a "museum" of biodiversity. Our findings, considered collectively with the diverse troglofauna of the Olhos d'Água cave, highlight it as one of the most important hotspots of troglobite diversity and endemism in the Neotropics. Given the ecological stresses on this habitat, the cavernicolous fauna are at risk of extinction and we emphasize the urgent need for appropriate conservation actions. Finally, we propose the transfer of Acanthominua, Euminua, Euminuoides and Pseudominua from Kimulidae to Zalmoxidae, resulting in two new synonymies and 13 new combinations.

Phylogeography of Nasutitermes corniger (Isoptera: Termitidae) in the Neotropical Region

BACKGROUND

The Neotropical Region is known for its biodiversity and ranks third in number of known termite species. However, biogeographic and phylogeographic information of termites of this region is limited compared to other world geographic regions. Nasutitermes corniger is widely distributed in the region and is of considerable economic importance. The goal of this study was to describe the phylogeography of N. corniger in the Neotropical Region, to better understand its evolutionary processes.

RESULTS

The sampled populations of N. corniger showed high genetic variation. Results indicated strong geographic structure among N. corniger populations, with most haplotypes not broadly shared among separated locations. Phylogeographic analyses showed a dispersal route for N. corniger from Central America into South America via the Isthmus of Panama, with subsequent dispersal through the highlands east of the Andes and into eastern regions of the continent. The majority of haplotypes were limited in distribution to proximal regions, corresponding to particular biomes (Atlantic Forest, Amazonia, Chaco, Cerrado and Caatinga).

CONCLUSIONS

Nasutitermes corniger is suggested to be a good model for biogeographic and phylogeographic studies in the Neotropical Region. This study clarified the phylogeographic history of N. corniger and can contribute to the understanding of biogeographic dispersion processes in the Neotropical Region.

Historical relationships of areas of endemism of the Brazilian Atlantic rain forest: a cladistic biogeographic analysis of harvestman taxa (Arachnida: Opiliones)

Based on a cladistic biogeographic analysis of 6 species-level phylogenies of harvestman taxa, we searched for congruence in the historical relationships of 12 areas of endemism of the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest. We constructed general area cladograms using Primary Brooks Parsimony Analysis (BPA), BPA of nodes, and paralogy-free subtree analysis. These analyses resulted in 6 general area cladograms, that allow to infer a general pattern of the relationships among areas of endemism from the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest. Northern areas resulted related basally showing main disjunctions at the Doce River Valley and Todos os Santos Bay/São Francisco River Valley. The remaining areas of endemism were included in a southern and a southeastern block, separated by the Ribeira do Iguape Valley. Incongruence Length Differences tests showed no significant incongruence among the resulting cladograms and other matrix partitions. We concluded that tectonism and ancient marine transgressions were the probable processes responsible for the main disjunctions, whereas Neogene refugia seem to have caused the more recent disjunctions. The general pattern and redundancy in area relationships suggest a model of main reiterative barriers in diversification at multiple times for the evolution of the Atlantic Rain Forest. The renewal of cladistic biogeography and the search for common biogeographic patterns are discussed.

Systematics of the Ceracis furcifer Species-Group (Coleoptera: Ciidae): The Specialized Consumers of the Blood-Red Bracket Fungus Pycnoporus sanguineus

The Ceracis furcifer species-group (Coleoptera: Ciidae) originally comprised nine species names: Ceracis cornifer (Mellié, 1849); C. cylindricus (Brèthes, 1922); C. furcifer Mellié, 1849; C. hastifer (Mellié, 1849); C. monocerus Lawrence, 1967; C. ruficornis Pic, 1916; C. simplicicornis (Pic, 1916); C. semipallidus Pic, 1922 and C. unicornis Gorham, 1898. Ceracis semipallidus was synonymised with C. furcifer and then no further changes were made to the composition of the group. Here, we provide a taxonomic revision of the Ceracis furcifer species-group and new data on the geographic distribution and host fungi of the included species. Lectotypes are designated for C. cornifer, C. furcifer, C. hastifer, C. ruficornis, C. semipallidus and C. unicornis. As results we: (i) synonymise C. cylindricus, C. monocerus, C. simplicicornis, C. unicornis with C. cornifer; (ii) confirm the synonymy of C. semipallidus with C. furcifer; (iii) redescribe C. cornifer, C. hastifer, C. furcifer and C. ruficornis; and (iv) provide an identification key for species in the furcifer group. The frontoclypeal horn and body coloration showed great intraspecific variation. We show that species in the furcifer group have distributions wider than previously known and use mainly Pycnoporus sanguineus as host fungus. Species of the furcifer group are the only animals specialized in feeding on basidiomes of P. sanguineus.

Fitogeografia de Aldama (Asteraceae, Heliantheae) na América do Sul

Resumo Apresentamos um estudo fitogeográfico sobre Aldama (Asteraceae: Heliantheae) baseado em extenso trabalho de campo, dados da literatura e de herbários. As espécies foram enquadradas em Eco-regiões (Andina e Neotropical) e Domínios Fitogeográficos previamente estabelecidos para Poaceae (Campestre Tropical e Subtropical, Campestre Temperado e Campestre de Países Frios). A maioria pertence à Região Neotropical com grande representatividade no Domínio Campestre Tropical e Subtropical. Apenas A. revoluta chega à Sub-região Patagênica da Região Andina. Os limites oeste e norte de certas espécies encontram-se na Cordilheira dos Andes. Em contrapartida, as regiões de Yungas e Puna parecem constituir corredores conectando essas áreas andinas com a área centro-leste do gênero. No Brasil, as condições mais favoráveis à diversidade e densidade populacional de Aldama estão em áreas sob os climas megatérmicos (a grande maioria das exclusivamente brasileiras) ou mesotérmicos dos tipos Aw e Cwa de Köppen, que condicionam a paisagem dos cerrados. A maior expressividade de Aldama nesses ambientes abertos parece estar relacionada ao sistema subterrâneo espessado, que provê necessidades hídricas na seca e proteção contra fogo. São apresentados quatro padrões de distribuição de espécies: Exclusivas da Zona de Transição Sul-americana (10 spp.), Neotropicais-transicionais (oito spp.), Andino-transicionais (três spp.) e Neotropicais não transicionais (41 spp.).

Areas of endemism in the Nearctic: a case study of 1339 species of Miridae (Insecta: Hemiptera) and their plant hosts

Areas of endemism are essential first hypotheses in investigating historical biogeography, but there is a surprising paucity of such hypotheses for the Nearctic region. Miridae, the plant bugs, are an excellent taxon to study in this context, because this group combines high species diversity, often small distribution ranges, a history of modern taxonomic revisions, and comprehensive electronic data capture and data cleaning that have resulted in an exceptionally error-free geospatial data set. Many Miridae are phytophagous and feed on only one or a small number of host plant species. The programs ndm/vndm are here used on plant bug and plant data sets to address two main objectives: (i) identify areas of endemism for plant bugs based on parameters used in a recent study that focused on Nearctic mammals; and (ii) discuss hypotheses on areas of endemism based on plant bug distributions in the context of areas identified by their host plant species. Given the narrow distribution ranges of many species of Miridae, the analytical results allow for tests of the prediction that areas of endemism for Miridae are smaller and more numerous, especially in the Western Nearctic, than are those of their host plants. Analyses of the default plant bug data set resulted in 45 areas of endemism, 35 of them north of Mexico and many located in the Western Nearctic; areas in the Nearctic are more numerous and smaller than those identified by mammals. The host plant data set resulted in ten areas of endemism, and even though the size range of areas is similar between the Miridae and plant data sets, the average area size is smaller in the Miridae data set. These results allow for the conclusion that the Miridae indeed present a valuable model system to investigate areas of endemism in the Nearctic.

Is xenodontine snake reproduction shaped by ancestry, more than by ecology?

One of the current challenges of evolutionary ecology is to understand the effects of phylogenetic history (PH) and/or ecological factors (EF) on the life-history traits of the species. Here, the effects of environment and phylogeny are tested for the first time on the reproductive biology of South American xenodontine snakes. We studied 60% of the tribes of this endemic and most representative clade in a temperate region of South America. A comparative method (canonical phylogenetic ordination-CPO) was used to find the relative contributions of EF and PH upon life-history aspects of snakes, comparing the reproductive mode, mean fecundity, reproductive potential, and frequency of nearly 1,000 specimens. CPO analysis showed that PH or ancestry explained most of the variation in reproduction, whereas EF explained little of this variation. The reproductive traits under study are suggested to have a strong phylogenetic signal in this clade, the ancestry playing a big role in reproduction. The EF also influenced the reproduction of South American xenodontines, although to a lesser extent. Our finding provides new evidence of how the evolutionary history is embodied in the traits of living species.

Bird assemblage vulnerability depends on the diversity and biogeographic histories of islands

Biodiversity is widely acknowledged to influence the magnitude and stability of a large array of ecosystem properties, with biodiverse systems thought to be more functionally robust. As such, diverse systems may be safer harbors for vulnerable species, resulting in a positive association between biodiversity and the collective vulnerability of species in an assemblage, or "assemblage vulnerability." We find that, for 35 islands across Northern Melanesia, bird assemblage vulnerability and biodiversity are positively associated. This relationship is highly contingent on Pleistocene connectivity, suggesting that biogeographic history-a factor often overlooked in biodiversity and ecosystem-functioning studies-may influence contemporary ecological processes. In the face of biodiversity loss attributable to anthropogenic drivers, reduced ecosystem functioning may erode the safe harbors of vulnerable assemblages. Paradoxically, these results suggest that biodiverse systems, as more robust systems, may experience greater biodiversity loss over ecological time because they harbor more vulnerable species accumulated over evolutionary time.

Análisis panbiogeográfico del género Galianthe subgénero Ebelia (Rubiaceae)

Resumen Galianthe (Rubiaceae: Spermacoceae) es un género con los subgéneros Galianthe y Ebelia, éste último comprende 11 especies neotropicales, con centro de diversidad se encuentra en Brasil. El análisis panbiogeográfíco enfatiza la importancia de la dimensión espacial de la biodiversidad para generar una comprensión más adecuada de los patrones y procesos evolutivos y enfoca los eventos vicariantes como la mayor fuerza de la fragmentación de biotas. Son escasos los estudios biogeográficos de Galianthe, por lo que el objetivo del presente trabajo es establecer los patrones de distribución de Ebelia mediante un análisis de trazos. Las especies poseen distribución mesoamericana, andina y chaqueña, cuatro de estas últimas son exclusivas de Brasil. Siete especies conforman un único trazo generalizado denominado "Paraná", que conecta las provincias biogeográficas Cerrado y Chaco del dominio Chaqueño y Atlántica, Bosque Paraná y Bosque de Araucaria, pertenecientes al dominio Paraná, ambos dominios se hallan íntegramente dentro de la subregión Chaqueña, región Neotropical. Debido a que el origen de la tribu Spermacoceae se ha establecido durante el Eoceno, la aridificación de Sudamérica generada por los eventos vicariantes como la orogenia andina e introgresiones marinas, posiblemente han favorecido la radiación adaptativa del subgénero Ebelia dentro de la subregión Chaqueña.

Reconstructing the Mexican Tropical Dry Forests via an Autoecological Niche Approach: Reconsidering the Ecosystem Boundaries

We used Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM) of individual species of two taxonomic groups (plants and birds) in order to reconstruct the climatic distribution of Tropical Dry Forests (TDFs) in Mexico and to analyze their boundaries with other terrestrial ecosystems. The reconstruction for TDFs' distribution was analyzed considering the prediction and omission errors based upon the combination of species, obtained from the overlap of individual models (only plants, only birds, and all species combined). Two verifications were used: a primary vegetation map and 100 independent TDFs localities. We performed a Principal Component (PCA) and Discriminant Analysis (DA) to evaluate the variation in the environmental variables and ecological overlap among ecosystems. The modeling strategies showed differences in the ecological patterns and prediction areas, where the "all species combined" model (with a threshold of ≥10 species) was the best strategy to use in the TDFs reconstruction. We observed a concordance of 78% with the primary vegetation map and a prediction of 98% of independent locality records. Although PCA and DA tests explained 75.78% and 97.9% of variance observed, respectively, we observed an important overlap among the TDFs with other adjacent ecosystems, confirming the existence of transition zones among them. We successfully modeled the distribution of Mexican TDFs using a number of bioclimatic variables and co-distributed species. This autoecological niche approach suggests the necessity of rethinking the delimitations of ecosystems based on the recognition of transition zones among them in order to understand the real nature of communities and association patterns of species.