Gondwana breakup under the ephemeral look

Old and cold: Diverse phylogenomic datasets support an ancient transantarctic dispersive route on the scorpion family Bothriuridae in temperate Gondwana

In this contribution we try to unveil the diversification process of Bothriuridae in temperate Gondwana through dated phylogenomic analyses using UCE and transcriptomics, and including in the analyses species of genera Urophonius and Cercophonius, the most closely related genera of Bothriuridae from South America and Australia respectively. Additionally we explored the hypothesis that the winter activity period of some species of Urophonius, as well as the cold environmental preferences of this genus, could be related to the climatic conditions of the time frame and area in which it evolved. Genus Urophonius was recovered as sister group to Cercophonius using amino acids and UCE. The time frame obtained for the split between South American and Australian bothriurids is 94 Ma., which suggests a dispersal event through temperate Gondwana, before the final breakup of the land bridge of South America-Antarctica-Australia ca. 35 Ma. The split between summer and winter species of Urophonius, taking place at 64 Ma, is considered representative to the turnover time from the summer activity period to the winter activity period in some species of the genus. This time frame is compatible with a period of global warming of the late Cretaceous greenhouse episode that could have triggered this change.

Generic placement of the African flea beetle Polyclada maculipennis Bryant and the possible occurrence of the genus Procalus Clark in sub-Saharan Africa (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini)

Polyclada Chevrolat and Procalus Clark are flea beetle genera (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini). Polyclada is endemic to the Afrotropical region, while Procalus has never been described outside of the Neotropical region. The new combination Procalus maculipennis (Bryant, 1942), comb. nov. is proposed for Polyclada maculipennis Bryant, 1942. Its plausible type locality is Venezuela, and not Cameroon, as recorded on the labels of the type material, and hence the occurrence of P. maculipennis in Africa is questionable.

Cenozoic origins of the genus Calliarcys (Insecta, Ephemeroptera) revealed by Micro-CT, with DNA barcode gap analysis of Leptophlebiinae and Habrophlebiinae

Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are among the oldest pterygote insects, with the earliest fossils dating back to the Late Carboniferous. Within mayflies, Leptophlebiidae are a highly diverse and widespread group, with approximately 140 genera and 640 species. Whereas taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny of extant Leptophlebiidae are in the focus of extensive studies, little is known about leptophlebiid fossil taxa. Because fossil remains of Ephemeroptera in sedimentary rocks are relatively rare, inclusions of mayflies in amber are a unique source of information on their evolution and diversity in the past. Leptophlebiidae found in Cenozoic resins mostly belong to the subfamilies Leptophlebiinae (in Eocene Baltic amber) and Atalophlebiinae (in Miocene Dominican and Mexican ambers). In the present contribution, we confirm the first finding of the genus Calliarcys from Eocene Baltic amber by using Micro-CT, which allowed confirming its generic placement by visualizing diagnostic key characters otherwise hidden by a cloud of turbidity. Additionally, we present first molecular data on the extant species Calliarcys humilis Eaton, 1881 from the Iberian Peninsula and the barcode gap analysis for Leptophlebiinae and Habrophlebiinae.