Phylogenetic placement of the Australian Pharetis, gen. nov., and Spherita, gen. nov., in a revised classification of the circum-Antarctic Moriomorphini (Coleoptera : Carabidae)

Abstract

The carabid beetle tribe Moriomorphini attains a disjunct austral geographical distribution, with member taxa occupying Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, the Sundas, southern South America and Polynesia. The group arose in Australia, the area exhibiting the greatest generic diversity for the tribe. In this contribution, two new genera are added to the Australian fauna. Pharetis thayerae, gen. nov., sp. nov., is described from Grenvillia, New South Wales, and Spherita newtoni, gen. nov., sp. nov., is described from Avon Valley National Park, Western Australia. Their phylogenetic placement within the tribe is accomplished by parsimony analysis based on 208 morphological characters across 124 taxa, 114 in-group species and 10 outgroup taxa representing Trechini, Psydrini and Patrobini. Nearly all polytypic moriomorphine genera are represented in the analysis by at least two exemplars, allowing initial tests of generic monophyly. A revised classification is proposed for Moriomorphini, with subtribal clades related as (Amblytelina + (Moriomorphina + Tropopterina)). The Western Australian genus Spherita is placed as adelphotaxon to Sitaphe Moore, a genus restricted to tropical montane Queensland. From the phylogenetic analysis, other non-contemporaneous east–west Australian disjunctions can be inferred, as well as multiple trans-Tasman area relationships between eastern Australia and New Zealand, all proposed to be of Miocene age. Pharetis exhibits a disjunct, trans-Antarctic relationship with Tropopterus Solier, its sister-group, distributed in southern South America. Alternative vicariance-based and dispersal-based hypotheses are discussed for the origin of Tropopterus. A review of the taxonomic development of the tribe illustrates the signal importance of monotypic genera in elucidating biological diversity.

Revision of Tropopterus Solier: A disjunct South American component of the Australo-Pacific Moriomorphini (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

“…The first eight characters will place Tropopterus within Psydrini in the system of Roig-Juñent and Domínguez (2001). The last antennal cleaner character differentiates the Psydrini from Moriomorphini (Baehr 1998;Liebherr 2020), as Psydrini exhibit a shorter, less well-developed antennal cleaner (Grade B of Hlavac 1971) versus that observed in Moriomorphini. The morphological results conform to phylogenetic hypotheses based on molecular sequence data (Maddison et al 1999(Maddison et al , 2019.…”

“…Previously described species are provided an extensive diagnosis sufficient for identification, whereas new species are also provided with a description that complements the diagnosis. Male genitalic terminology follows that of Liebherr (2018bLiebherr ( , 2020, with abbreviations used in the figures presented in Table 1. Terminology of the female reproductive tract characters (Table 1) follows Liebherr and Will (1998).…”

“…The carabid beetle tribe Moriomorphini exhibits an aggregate geographical distribution that includes Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, the Sunda Islands, the Society and Hawaiian Islands in Polynesia, and Chile. The greatest generic diversity in the tribe is centered in Australia with representatives of 21 genera (Liebherr 2020) and New Zealand with six genera represented (Larochelle and Larivière 2013, Liebherr 2018a, 2020. Conversely, the bulk of species-level diversity in the tribe is represented by species of the genus Mecyclothorax Sharp, with that genus represented by 239 species in Hawaii (Liebherr 2015) and 108 species in Tahiti and Moorea (Liebherr 2012(Liebherr , 2013.…”

“…This trans-Pacific interpretation of Tropopterus unravelled over time, with Broun proposing several precinctive New Zealand genera to hold species he previously described under Tropopterus (summarized in Larochelle and Larivière 2013), and Moore (1963) removing the Australian species from Tropopterus and placing them in the precinctive Australian genus Theprisa Moore. Most recently, Liebherr (2020) conducted a cladistic analysis of the tribe Moriomorphini, finding that Tropopterus exhibits a sister-taxon relationship with a monotypic Australian genus. This contribution revises Tropopterus based on substantial new material collected by field surveys conducted from the 1980s to the present.…”

“…Nomenclatural disclaimer. Pharetis Liebherr and Pharetis thayerae Liebherr are disclaimed for nomenclatural purposes (ICZN 1999, Article 8.3) and are unavailable until published (Liebherr 2020).…”