Evolutionary history of Coleoptera revealed by extensive sampling of genes and species

Shao-Qian Zhang, Li-Heng Che, Yun Li, Liang, Hong Pang, Adam Ślipiński () and Peng Zhang ()
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Shao-Qian Zhang: Sun Yat-Sen University
Li-Heng Che: Sun Yat-Sen University
Yun Li: Sun Yat-Sen University
Liang: Sun Yat-Sen University
Hong Pang: Sun Yat-Sen University
Adam Ślipiński: Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO
Peng Zhang: Sun Yat-Sen University

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Beetles (Coleoptera) are the most diverse and species-rich group of insects, and a robust, time-calibrated phylogeny is fundamental to understanding macroevolutionary processes that underlie their diversity. Here we infer the phylogeny and divergence times of all major lineages of Coleoptera by analyzing 95 protein-coding genes in 373 beetle species, including ~67% of the currently recognized families. The subordinal relationships are strongly supported as Polyphaga (Adephaga (Archostemata, Myxophaga)). The series and superfamilies of Polyphaga are mostly monophyletic. The species-poor Nosodendridae is robustly recovered in a novel position sister to Staphyliniformia, Bostrichiformia, and Cucujiformia. Our divergence time analyses suggest that the crown group of extant beetles occurred ~297 million years ago (Mya) and that ~64% of families originated in the Cretaceous. Most of the herbivorous families experienced a significant increase in diversification rate during the Cretaceous, thus suggesting that the rise of angiosperms in the Cretaceous may have been an ‘evolutionary impetus’ driving the hyperdiversity of herbivorous beetles.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02644-4

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