Explosive Adaptive Radiation and Extreme Phenotypic Diversity within Ant-Nest Beetles

摘要: Summary Ant-nest beetles ( Paussus ) are the quintessential Trojan horses of insect world. They hack complex communication system ants, allowing them to blend into ant society and be treated as royalty, all while preying upon ants ants' brood duping rearing their young [1–3]. Here we present results first molecular-based phylogeny ant-nest beetles, which reveals that this symbiosis has produced one most stunning examples rapid adaptive radiation documented date. The recent ancestor a clade endemic Madagascar is only 2.6 million years old. This species gave rise remarkably phenotypically diverse 86 extant with net diversification interval 0.38–0.81 years, rate faster than classic textbook large, recent, radiations such Anolis lizards on Caribbean islands, cichlids East African Great Lakes, finches Galapagos Islands, Drosophila tetragnathid spiders Hawaiian Islands [4–8]. In order for adapt new host species, beetle's ability perceive, deceive, communicate must evolve quickly in synchrony both larval adult life stages, resulting unusually strong selective pressure levied by ants. Data associations suggest that history shifts may help explain striking phenotypic diversity within Malagasy evolution similar yet distantly related Africa.