Dated phylogenetic trees are important for studying mechanisms of diversification, and molecular clocks are important tools for studies of organisms lacking good fossil records. However, studies have begun to identify problems in molecular clock dates caused by uncertainty of the modeled molecular substitution process. Here we explore Bayesian relaxed-clock molecular dating while studying the biogeography of ca. 200 species from the global cicada tribe Cicadettini. Because the available fossils are few and uninformative, we calibrate our trees in part with a cytochrome oxidase I (COI) clock prior encompassing a range of literature estimates for arthropods. We show that tribe-level analyses calibrated solely with the COI clock recover extremely old dates that conflict with published estimates for two well-studied New Zealand subclades within Cicadettini. Additional subclade analyses suggest that COI relaxed-clock rates and maximum-likelihood branch lengths become inflated relative to EF-1[Formula: see text] intron and exon rates and branch lengths as clade age increases. We present corrected estimates derived from: (i) an extrapolated EF-1[Formula: see text] exon clock derived from COI-calibrated analysis within the largest New Zealand subclade; (ii) post hoc scaling of the tribe-level chronogram using results from subclade analyses; and (iii) exploitation of a geological calibration point associated with New Caledonia. We caution that considerable uncertainty is generated due to dependence of substitution estimates on both the taxon sample and the choice of model, including gamma category number and the choice of empirical versus estimated base frequencies. Our results suggest that diversification of the tribe Cicadettini commenced in the early- to mid-Cenozoic and continued with the development of open, arid habitats in Australia and worldwide. We find that Cicadettini is a rare example of a global terrestrial animal group with an Australasian origin, with all non-Australasian genera belonging to two distal clades. Within Australia, we show that Cicadettini is more widely distributed than any other cicada tribe, diverse in temperate, arid and monsoonal habitats, and nearly absent from rainforests. We comment on the taxonomic implications of our findings for thirteen cicada genera.

Aim: We sought to illuminate the history of the arachnid orders Schizomida and Uropygi, neither of which have previously been subjected to global molecular phylogenetic and biogeographical analyses.Location: Specimens used in this study were collected in all major tropical and subtropical areas where they are presently found, including the Americas, Africa, Australia and the Indo-Pacific region.Methods: From field-collected specimens, we sequenced two nuclear and two mitochondrial markers, combined these with publicly available data, and conducted multi-gene phylogenetic analyses on 240 Schizomida, 24 Uropygi and 12 other arachnid outgroups. Schizomid specimens included one specimen from the small family Protoschizomidae; other schizomid specimens were in Hubbardiidae, subfamily Hubbardiinae, which holds 289 of the order's 305 named species. We inferred ancestral areas using the Dispersal-Extinction-Cladogenesis model of range evolution, and we used fossil calibrations to estimate divergence times. Results:We recovered monophyletic Schizomida and Uropygi as each other's sister group, forming the clade Thelyphonida, and terminals from the New World were usually positioned as the earliest diverging lineages. The ancestral area for

Termites are major decomposers in terrestrial ecosystems and the second most diverse lineage of social insects. The Kalotermitidae form the second-largest termite family and are distributed across tropical and subtropical ecosystems, where they typically live in small colonies confined to single wood items inhabited by individuals with no foraging abilities. How the Kalotermitidae have acquired their global distribution patterns remains unresolved. Similarly, it is unclear whether foraging is ancestral to Kalotermitidae or was secondarily acquired in a few species. These questions can be addressed in a phylogenetic framework. We inferred time-calibrated phylogenetic trees of Kalotermitidae using mitochondrial genomes of ∼120 species, about 27% of kalotermitid diversity, including representatives of 21 of the 23 kalotermitid genera. Our mitochondrial genome phylogenetic trees were corroborated by phylogenies inferred from nuclear ultraconserved elements derived from a subset of 28 species. We found that extant kalotermitids shared a common ancestor 84 Mya (75–93 Mya 95% HPD), indicating that a few disjunctions among early-diverging kalotermitid lineages may predate Gondwana breakup. However, most of the ∼40 disjunctions among biogeographic realms were dated at less than 50 Mya, indicating that transoceanic dispersals, and more recently human-mediated dispersals, have been the major drivers of the global distribution of Kalotermitidae. Our phylogeny also revealed that the capacity to forage is often found in early-diverging kalotermitid lineages, implying the ancestors of Kalotermitidae were able to forage among multiple wood pieces. Our phylogenetic estimates provide a platform for critical taxonomic revision and future comparative analyses of Kalotermitidae.

The nematode Heth impalutiensis n. sp. is described from an unidentified spirostreptid millipede (Harpagophoridae) from the Bukidnon Province of Mindanao, the Philippines. Based on morphological characters, H. impalutiensis n. sp. is closest to Asian-Pacific representatives of the genus. Females of H. impalutiensis n. sp. are close to H. dimorphum and H. vietnamensis in body size and form of the lateral lappets, but can be distinguished by the significantly longer tail. Males of H. impalutiensis n. sp. strongly resemble that of H. xaniophora by the presence of such a rare character combinations as mammiform papillae and a bursa-like cuticular fold, but can be easily differentiated by the numbers of genital papillae (7 vs 6 pairs, respectively). Heth impalutiensis n. sp. can be distinguished from all nominal species by hypertrophy of the anterior anal lip in females which overlaps the anal aperture. Phylogenetic analysis based on the newly obtained set of sequences did not provide an evidence of infraorder Rhigonematomorpha monophyly as two superfamilies Ransomnematoidea and Rhigonematoidea formed independent clades in the frames of ascaridid-spirurid-oxyurid super clade (Clade III of Nadler et al., 2007).

The cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) related to tribe Cicadini exhibit some of the most remarkable phenotypes in the family, with many genera possessing striking colour patterns and unusual morphological features. This largely Asian group of 13 tribes has proven challenging for cicada taxonomists, in part because of likely convergent evolution or losses of these phenotypes. We present the first focused molecular phylogeny of this clade, including ~60 described genera. The genetic dataset contains 839 ingroup-informative sites (out of 2575) from mitochondrial cytochromec oxidase subunitI, nuclear elongation factor-1α, and nuclear acetyltransferase. We use Bayesian and maximum likelihood trees to test recent changes in tribe- and subtribe-level classification, and we reconstruct ancestral character states for potentially convergent traits influencing tribe descriptions. We use fossil and molecular clock calibrations to estimate the temporal and geographic context of the radiation. The tribes Gaeanini, Leptopsaltriini, Platypleurini, Psithyristriini, and Tosenini appear polyphyletic and in need of revision, in part because of convergent evolution of opaque wings and multiple convergent gains or losses of abdominal tubercles. Kalabita Moulton, 1923 is transferred from Platypleurini to Leptopsaltriini. Vittagaeana gen. nov. is established for Vittagaeana paviei comb. nov. and Vittagaeana dives comb. nov., formerly in Tosena. Sinosenini syn. nov. is synonymised with Dundubiina. Ayuthiini trib. nov. is established with two new subtribes for Ayuthia Distant, 1919 and Distantalna Boulard, 2009, formerly in Tosenini. For the earliest split in the tree, one common ancestor appears to have been Indian + Asian in geographic distribution and the other Asian. We estimate that the radiation began in the middle Cenozoic Era, possibly as recently as the early Miocene. The recent and steady pattern of diversification suggests that refinement of tribe diagnoses will prove challenging. http://zoobank.org:urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5A6C16F4-5269-453B-BA5C-B29C3394683A