Molecular data extend Australian Cricotopus midge (Chironomidae) species diversity, and provide a phylogenetic hypothesis for biogeography and freshwater monitoring

Matt N. Krosch*, Peter S. Cranston, Andrew M. Baker, Sue Vink

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    17 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Resolving species relationships and confirming diagnostic morphological characters for insect clades that are highly plastic, and/or include morphologically cryptic species, is crucial for both academic and applied reasons. Within the true fly (Diptera) family Chironomidae, a most ubiquitous freshwater insect group, the genera CricotopusWulp, 1874 and ParatrichocladiusSantos-Abreu, 1918 have long been taxonomically confusing. Indeed, until recently the Australian fauna had been examined in just two unpublished theses: most species were known by informal manuscript names only, with no concept of relationships. Understanding species limits, and the associated ecology and evolution, is essential to address taxonomic sufficiency in biomonitoring surveys. Immature stages are collected routinely, but tolerance is generalized at the genus level, despite marked variation among species. Here, we explored this issue using a multilocus molecular phylogenetic approach, including the standard mitochondrial barcode region, and tested explicitly for phylogenetic signal in ecological tolerance of species. Additionally, we addressed biogeographical patterns by conducting Bayesian divergence time estimation. We sampled all but one of the now recognized Australian Cricotopus species and tested monophyly using representatives from other austral and Asian locations. Cricotopus is revealed as paraphyletic by the inclusion of a nested monophyletic Paratrichocladius, with in-group diversification beginning in the Eocene. Previous morphological species concepts are largely corroborated, but some additional cryptic diversity is revealed.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)496-509
    Number of pages14
    JournalZoological Journal of the Linnean Society
    Volume175
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2015

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