The diversity of <i>Wolbachia</i> infections detected in New Zealand illustrated in a phylogeny of novel and published <i>Wolbachia</i> DNA sequences at the ftsZ locus (211–438 bp).

<p>Species names are those of the hosts. <i>Wolbachia</i> supergroup A is in blue, and supergroup B in red. H.b <i>Hemiandrus brucei</i>, H.l <i>Hemiandrus luna</i>, H.m <i>Hemiandrus maculifrons</i>, H.n <i>Hemiandrus nox</i>.</p

Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of New Zealand and representatives of published <i>Wolbachia</i> endosymbionts based on ftsZ sequences.

<p>Species names are those of the host of <i>Wolbachia</i>. <i>Wolbachia</i> supergroups are indicated by the corresponding letter (A–F). Host names in color (blue/red) are insect species endemic to New Zealand.</p

Summary of New Zealand invertebrate samples tested for <i>Wolbachia</i> infection through PCR.

<p>Summary of New Zealand invertebrate samples tested for <i>Wolbachia</i> infection through PCR.</p

Published representative <i>Wolbachia</i> genome diversity by host taxon.

<p>Published representative <i>Wolbachia</i> genome diversity by host taxon.</p

Evolutionary relationships among ftsZ DNA sequences from <i>Wolbachia</i> infections of New Zealand insects inferred using minimum spanning networks.

<p>Published sequences from similar <i>Wolbachia</i> collected outside of New Zealand are coded in red. A. Supergroup (isolate) A <i>Wolbachia</i> (360 bp) infecting New Zealand orthoptera and parasitoid wasps. B. Supergroup (isolate) B <i>Wolbachia</i> (228 bp) infecting orthoptera and book lice. Numbers of nucleotide differences among FtsZ sequences are indicated.</p

Collection localities of New Zealand <i>Eucolaspis</i> beetles used in this study.

<p>Closed circles represent sampling locations. Inset maps show details of more intensely sampled regions. Relevant localities and regions are indicated. Sampled ecological regions include ^¶Northern North Island, ^‡Central Volcanic Plateau, *Axial Ranges, ^†Windward Districts and ^§Leeward Districts.</p

Species delimitation analysis confirms monophyly of the thee mainland New Zealand lineages of <i>Eucolaspis</i>.

<p>Inter Dist closest = mean pairwise tree distance between the members of the focal species and members of the next closest species; P ID(strict) = mean probability of correctly identifying an unknown specimen of the focal species using placement on a tree sequence; Av (MRCA) = mean distance between the most recent common ancestor of a species and its members; P (randomly distinct) is the probability that a lineage has the observed degree of distinctiveness due to random coalescent processes. Input tree was constructed by Bayesian inference method using GTR+G+I model.</p

Canonical Discriminant analysis for <i>Eucolaspis</i> morphometric data.

<p>Can1 and Can2 are the first two canonical variables. (A) Morphometric relationships among <i>Eucolaspis</i> beetles collected from different ecological regions across New Zealand. (B) Morphometric relationships among identified voucher <i>Eucolaspis</i> specimens in NZAC collection: variation among the samples independently diagnosed to species. (C) Morphometric relationships among male <i>Eucolaspis</i> beetles with three different aedeagei types. (D) Morphometric relationships among the three mainland New Zealand genetic lineages of <i>Eucolaspis</i> (Lineages 1, 2 and 3).</p

DNA and Morphology Unite Two Species and 10 Million Year Old Fossils

<div><p>Species definition and delimitation is a non-trivial problem in evolutionary biology that is particularly problematic for fossil organisms. This is especially true when considering the continuity of past and present species, because species defined in the fossil record are not necessarily equivalent to species defined in the living fauna. Correctly assigned fossil species are critical for sensitive downstream analysis (e.g., diversification studies and molecular-clock calibration). The marine snail genus <em>Alcithoe</em> exemplifies many of the problems with species identification. The paucity of objective diagnostic characters, prevalence of morphological convergence between species and considerable variability within species that are observed in <em>Alcithoe</em> are typical of a broad range of fossilised organisms. Using a synthesis of molecular and morphometric approaches we show that two taxa currently recognised as distinct are morphological variants of a single species. Furthermore, we validate the fossil record for one of these morphotypes by finding a concordance between the palaeontological record and divergence time of the lineage inferred using molecular-clock analysis. This work demonstrates the utility of living species represented in the fossil record as candidates for molecular-clock calibration, as the veracity of fossil species assignment can be more rigorously tested.</p> </div

Sexual dimorphism in New Zealand <i>Eucolaspis</i> beetles.

<p>Data from representative individuals among fresh beetle samples collected throughout New Zealand. BL Body length, BW body width, EL elytra length, EW elytra width, AL antennae length, PL pronotum length, HPD head puncture density, PPD pronotal puncture density, AEPD anterior elytral puncture density, PEPD posterior elytral puncture density.</p