Phylogeny, species delimitation and convergence in the South American bothriurid scorpion genus Brachistosternus Pocock 1893: Integrating morphology, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.

摘要: A phylogenetic analysis of the scorpion genus Brachistosternus Pocock, 1893 (Bothriuridae Simon, 1880) is presented, based on a dataset including 41 43 described species and five outgroups, 116 morphological characters more than 4150 base-pairs DNA sequence from nuclear 18S rDNA 28S gene loci, mitochondrial 12S rDNA, 16S Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit I loci. Analyses conducted using parsimony, Maximum Likelihood Bayesian Inference were largely congruent with high support for most clades. The results confirmed monophyly Brachistosternus, nominal subgenus, subgenus Ministernus Francke, 1985, as in previous analyses only morphology, but differed several other respects. Species plains Atacama Desert diverged basally whereas altitude Andean radiated derived ancestor, presumably consequence uplift associated changes climate. limits assessed among that contain intraspecific variation (e.g., different morphs), are difficult to separate morphologically, and/or exhibit widespread or disjunct distributions. extent convergence adaptation life sandy substrata (psammophily) complexity male genitalia, hemispermatophores, was investigated. Psammophily evolved at least four independent occasions. lobe regions hemispermatophore increased three occasions, decreased another