Larval description and chaetotaxic analysis of dineutus sinuosipennis laporte, 1840, with a key for the identification of larvae of the tribe Dineutini (Coleoptera, Gyrinidae)

The larvae of the Malagasy whirligig beetle Dineutus sinuosipennis Laporte, 1840, identified using DNA sequence data, are described and illustrated for the first time, including detailed morphometric and chaetotaxic analyses of selected structures and a description of larval habitat. Larvae of the genus Dineutus Macleay, 1825 are diagnosed, and a key to identify the genera of the tribe Dineutini is presented. Larvae of Dineutus exhibit the characters traditionally recognized as autapomorphies of the Gyrinidae: body less sclerotized, egg bursters located on the parietal, one additional sensorial plate on the third antennomere, cardo and lacinia well developed, prementum completely divided, abdominal tracheal gills, and four terminal hooks on the pygopod. They also share with larvae of the other Dineutini genera these putative synapomorphies: numerous minute pore-like additional structures on the ultimate maxillary and labial palpomeres, coxal primary seta CO12 inserted submedially, and trochanteral primary seta TR2 absent. Larvae of Dineutus can be distinguished from those of other known genera of Dineutini by the posterior margin of the lacinia not dentate, tracheal gills plumose, parietal seta PA5 inserted relatively far from setae PA7–9, mandibular pores MNb and MNc inserted relatively far from each other, and tarsal seta TA1 inserted submedially.Fil: Michat, Mariano Cruz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Gustafson, Grey T.. University of Kansas; Estados UnidosFil: Bergsten, Johannes. Swedish Museum Of Natural History; Sueci

Review of the whirligig beetle genus Gyrinus of Venezuela (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae)

The Venezuelan species of the genus Gyrinus Geoffroy, 1762 are reviewed (Gyrinidae: Gyrininae: Gyrinini). The Venezuelan Gyrinus fauna is found to be comprised of nine species distributed among the subgenera Neogyrinus Hatch, 1926 and Oreogyrinus Ochs, 1935, although Gyrinus (Oreogyrinus) colombicus Régimbart, 1883 is known from imprecisely localized and potentially mislabeled specimens and the species presumably does not occur in Venezuela. Three new species are described: G. (Oreogyrinus) vinolentus sp. nov. from the Andes, and G. (Oreogyrinus) iridinus sp. nov. and G. (Neogyrinus) sabanensis sp. nov., from the Guiana Shield region. Two new synonymies are established: G. amazonicus Ochs, 1958 syn. nov. is synonymized with G. guianus Ochs, 1935, and G. racenisi Ochs, 1953 syn. nov. is synonymized with G. ovatus Aubé, 1838. Gyrinus (Oreogyrinus) feminalis Mouchamps, 1957, described from Venezuela from two female syntypes only, is considered as species inquirendum, as the types were not found. For each species a dorsal habitus, illustration of male and female genitalia, and distribution map are provided. A key and checklist for the Venezuelan Gyrinus species is included

Morphological phylogeny of Megachilini and the evolution of leaf-cutter behavior in bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Evolution of leaf-cutter behavior in bees

A unique feature among bees is the ability of some species of Megachile Latreille s.l. to cut and process fresh leaves for nest construction. The presence of a razor between the female mandibular teeth (interdental laminae) to facilitate leaf-cutting (LC) is a morphological novelty that might have triggered a subsequent diversification in this group. However, we have a limited understanding of the phylogeny of this group despite the large number of described species and the origins and patterns of variations of this mandibular structure are unknown. Herein, using a cladistic analysis of adult external morphological characters, we explored the relationships of all genera of Megachilini and the more than 50 subgenera of Megachile s.l. We coded 272 characters for 8 outgroups and 114 ingroup species. Depending on the weighting scheme (equal or implied weighting), our parsimony analyses suggested the monophyly of Megachile s.l. and that either Noteriades Cockerell or the clade Coelioxys Latreille + Radoszkowskiana Popov is the extant sister group of all other Megachilini. In addition, we conducted Bayesian total-evidence tip-dating analyses to examine other possible hypotheses of relationships and patterns of variation of the interdental lamina. Our analyses suggest that interdental laminae developed asynchronicaly from two different structures in the mandible, and differ in their phenotypic plasticity. Character correlation tests using phylogenetic pairwise comparisons indicated that the presence of interdental lamina is not associated with head size, mandible size and shape, and pubescence on the adductor interspace. We discuss the implications of our findings for the classification of Megachilini and the development of novel evolutionary, ecological, and functional hypotheses on this behavior. New taxa established are Pseudoheriadini Gonzalez & Engel, new tribe, Ochreriadini Gonzalez & Engel, new tribe, Cremnomegachile Gonzalez & Engel, new genus, Rozenapis Gonzalez & Engel, new genus, and Saucrochile Gonzalez & Engel, new genus, along with the following new combinations: Cremnomegachile dolichosoma (Benoist), new combination, Rozenapis ignita (Smith), new combination, and Saucrochile heriadiformis (Smith), new combination

The enduring value of reciprocal illumination in the era of insect phylogenomics: a response to Cai et al. (2020)

Arguably no other group within Coleoptera has received as robust and sustained investigation into their phylogenetic relationships as aquatic beetles. Among this ecological guild, evolutionary relationships of the families within Dytiscoidea, a clade comprising the charismatic diving beetles (Dytiscidae) and their close relatives, have received particular attention. Very recently, four different studies were published investigating the phylogeny of Dytiscoidea, three of which utilized phylogenomic data, the most recent by Cai etal. (2020). Cai et al. (2020) (hereafter CEA) approached investigating theevolutionary relationships among dytiscoid families by reanalysing the transcriptomic dataset of Vasilikopoulos et al. (2019) using different evolutionary models and data trimming regimes. CEAs analyses recovered three different topologies for relationships amongst Dytiscoidea, two of which have been recovered in several previous studies. The primary difference among these topologies is the placement of Hygrobiidae, either as sister to (Dytiscidae (Amphizoidae + Aspidytidae)), sister to Amphizoidae + Aspidytidae, or as sister to Dytiscidae. In CEA, topologies shown in Fig. 1A, C both received maximal (e.g. bootstrap values of 100 and posterior probabilities of 100%) to strong support respectively via their preferred model of evolution. Whereas CEAs recovery of Hygrobiidae sister to Amphizoidae + Aspidytidae was not as strongly supported, Gustafson et al. (2020) recovered this topology primarily with strong to maximal support across all analyses with comprehensive taxon sampling of Dytiscoidea. Rather than treating the three topologies recovered both within their own study and elsewhere as equally viable hypotheses, CEA dismissed the relationships shown in Fig. 1A, B as the result of phylogenetic methodological error, promoting Fig. 1C as their preferred tree because it is consistent with morphology-based views of dytiscoid relationships. Here, we address (i) the manner in which CEA approached reconciling conflicting hypotheses about the evolution of Dytiscoidea; and (ii) the misconception that dytiscoid relationships shown in Fig. 1C are the most consistent with morphology-based views in relation to those of Fig. 1A, B.Fil: Gustafson, Grey T.. University of Kansas; Estados UnidosFil: Miller, Kelly B.. University of New Mexico. Department of Biology; Estados UnidosFil: Michat, Mariano Cruz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Alarie, Yves. Laurentian University. Department of Biology; CanadáFil: Baca, Stephen M.. University of Kansas; Estados UnidosFil: Balke, Michael. Zoologische Staatssammlung Munchen; AlemaniaFil: Short, Andrew E. Z.. University of Kansas; Estados Unido

Stress, glucocorticoids and bone: A review from mammals and fish

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are the final effector products of a neuroendocrine HPA/HPI axis governing energy balance and stress response in vertebrates. From a physiological point of view, basal GC levels are essential for intermediary metabolism and participate in the development and homeostasis of a wide range of body tissues, including the skeleton. Numerous mammalian studies have demonstrated that GC hormones exert a positive role during bone modeling and remodeling as they promote osteoblastogenesis to maintain the bone architecture. Although the pharmacological effect of the so-called stress hormones has been widely reported, the role of endogenous GCs on bone mineral metabolism as result of the endocrine stress response has been largely overlooked across vertebrates. In addition, stress responses are variable depending on the stressor (e.g., starvation, predation, and environmental change), life cycle events (e.g., migration and aging), and differ among vertebrate lineages, which react differently according to their biological, social and cognitive complexity (e.g., mineral demands, physical, and psychological stress). This review intends to summarize the endogenous GCs action on bone metabolism of mammals and fish under a variety of challenging circumstances. Particular emphasis will be given to the regulatory loop between GCs and the parathyroid hormone (PTH) family peptides, and other key regulators of mineral homeostasis and bone remodeling in vertebrates.Spanish Economy and Competitiveness Ministry projects [AGL2014-52473R, AGL2017-89648P]; Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [PTDC/BIA-ANM/4225/2012]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cenozoic out-of-Africa dispersal shaped diversification of the whirligig beetle genus Aulonogyrus (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae: Gyrinini)

The whirligig beetle genus Aulonogyrus Motschulsky, 1853 comprises more than fifty species divided among five subgenera. The genus has high endemicity in southern Africa, with additional endemic species found on Madagascar, Australia, and New Caledonia. This distribution has been proposed to be of Gondwanan origin. In Africa and Madagascar, species of Aulonogyrus are relatively common freshwater macroinvertebrates inhabiting a variety of lotic and lentic habitats. The phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography of the genus have never been examined, and it has been suggested that subgenera of Aulonogyrus are not natural groups. Here both Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenetic inference are conducted on the genus using data from six gene fragments to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the group. Ancestral range reconstructions are performed to infer the historical biogeography of the genus. Strong support for the monophyly of the genus Aulonogyrus and the subgenera Aulonogyrus s.str. and Afrogyrus Brinck, 1955 was recovered. The three Malagasy subgenera are synonymized with the primarily African subgenus Afrogyrus: Pterygyrus Brinck, 1955 n.syn., Lophogyrus Brinck, 1955 n.syn., and Paragyrus Brinck, 1955 n.syn. The ancestral range reconstruction supports an African origin for the genus with several independent Cenozoic out-of-Africa dispersal events to Madagascar, and the Palearctic and Oceania regions resulting in its current distribution

Phylogenetics and diversification of whirligig beetles (Coleoptera, Gyrinidae)

Whirligig beetles are a family of aquatic beetles with an estimated 1,000 species distributed globally. Phylogenetic analysis incorporating molecular data has only recently been conducted on the family and many genera have never received modern taxonomic revision. The first chapter of the dissertation provides a taxonomic revision of the Southeast Asian whirligig beetle genus Porrorhynchus, finding the genus to contain 5 species, and no support for the numerous proposed subspecies. For the second chapter a phylogenetic analysis utilizing the most novel phylogenetic reconstructions methods incorporating the new Fossilized Birth-Death macroevolutionary model implemented in the program MrBayes 3.2.6 was conducted on the whirligig beetle tribe Dineutini. The analysis finds strong support for the monophyly of the tribe, and 4 out of 5 of the proposed genera. The numerous subgenera proposed for the genera Dineutus and Macrogyrus are unsupported, with most synonymized, and the remaining subgenera provided with new diagnoses and constituent species. The second chapter also includes a biogeographic analysis reconstructing the historical biogeography of the Dineutini. The third chapter utilizes the same phylogenetic methods as the second chapter, however, the analysis was performed at the family level, combining the dataset from a previous study as well taxa sampled in chapter two. The analysis reveals the whirligig beetles to be an ancient beetle group with Triassic origins, and the two currently monotypic subfamilies as the sole survivors of dominant clades from the Mesozoic.Doctor of Philosophy in BiologyDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Biology Dept.Miller, Kelly B.Cook, JosephWitt, ChristopherBergsten, Johanne

The morphology and behavior of the endemic Malagasy whirligig beetle Heterogyrus milloti Legros, 1953 (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae: Heterogyrinae)

The Malagasy endemic whirligig beetle Heterogyrus milloti Legros, 1953 is redescribed. Jumping behavior of H. milloti is reported here for the first time with video recordings provided. Results of a behavioral experiment conducted in the field demonstrate H. milloti jumps in a targeted manner in a downstream direction. The unique habitat of H. milloti is described in detail with both image and video of the habitat included. Morphology of H. milloti is discussed in detail, revealing symplesiomorphies with Spanglerogyrus Folkerts, 1979, characters forming transitional series between Spanglerogyrus and the Gyrininae, and features unique to H. milloti. The potential adaptive significance of these peculiar morphological features in association with the habitat of H. milloti is discussed. Finally, an argument for the necessity of conservation of this species is made, and common names in English, French, Malagasy, and Swedish for H. milloti are proposed to aid conservation efforts

A North American Biodiversity Hotspot Gets Richer: A New Species of Whirligig Beetle (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae) From the Southeastern Coastal Plain of the United States

A new species of Dineutus Macleay, 1825 is described from the Southeastern Coastal Plain of the United Sates. Habitus and aedeagus images as well as illustrations of elytral apices, protarsus, palps, and male mesopretarsal claws are provided for Dineutus shorti n. sp. and compared to those of D. discolor Aubé, 1838. The importance of the Southeastern Coastal Plain as a biodiversity hotspot and the potential conservation concern of D. shorti n. sp. also are discussed