An ant genus-group (Prenolepis) illuminates the biogeography and drivers of insect diversification in the Indo-Pacific

Global domination by crazy ants: phylogenomics reveals biogeographical history and invasive species relationships in the genus Nylanderia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

“…Lognormal calibration priors were assigned using two Nylanderia fossil species (reviewed in LaPolla & Dlussky, ) and their median ages based on calibrations performed by Matos‐Maraví et al . (): (i) N. vetula LaPolla and Dlussky (17.1 Ma) and (ii) N. pygmaea (Mayr) (38.9 Ma). However, unlike Matos‐Maraví et al .…”

“…() found support in multigene sequence data for the monophyly of Nylanderia . Additional morphological characters distinguishing Nylanderia from other genera were discovered in a global taxonomic revision of the genus Prenolepis Say (Williams & LaPolla, ), and recent molecular phylogenetic and phylogenomic studies have continued to support the monophyly of Nylanderia (Blaimer et al ., ; Matos‐Maraví et al ., ). Emery () originally described Nylanderia over a century ago and a genus‐wide taxonomic revision is needed because taxonomic confusion frequently leads to misidentified or unnamed specimens.…”

“…Taxonomic revision is still needed for Nylanderia in regions where the genus is most diverse: Mesoamerica, South America, Southeast Asia and Australasia. These regions are major centres of Nylanderia species diversity, and Southeast Asia likely represents the biogeographical origin of the genus (Matos‐Maraví et al ., ). In order to stabilize the chaotic taxonomy of this genus, nomenclature needs to reflect actual species boundaries and relationships among lineages.…”

“…Because characterization of morphology is difficult due to the limits of variation for Nylanderia in a global context, molecular data are expected to be particularly useful in resolving global phylogenetic relationships and the identities of both widespread globetrotting species and unknown native species alike, especially in regions where the genus is most species‐rich and least characterized. Monophyly of Nylanderia and its phylogenetic placement among the Prenolepis genus‐group genera has been strongly corroborated by Sanger datasets (LaPolla et al ., ; Lapolla et al ., ; Matos‐Maraví et al ., ). However, a genus‐wide revision informed by a reconstruction of the evolutionary history leading to the global biodiversity observed today will require inclusion of more species, with representative sampling from all major lineages across Nylanderia .…”

Biogeography and Ecological Diversification of a Mayfly Clade in New Guinea

“…In the second scenario, the biogeographic model would rather suggest colonization of the fold and thrust belts corresponding to present-day central mountain range, followed by colonization of surrounding areas. As an alternative to these two scenarios, Hall's paleogeographic models suggest the emergence of small islands or archipelagos along current northern New Guinea prior to the formation of the island as of today (Hall, 2013), which would make possible colonization of the proto-Papuan archipelagos as early as the Oligocene and serve as drivers of diversification for a large array of lineages (Jønsson et al, 2011;Matos-Maraví et al, 2018b). To provide a first larger scale empirical framework to test these, Toussaint et al (2014) conducted biogeographic and diversification rate analyses using a phylogeny of diving beetles (Exocelina).…”