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Mark S Harvey
Other: Senior Curator
Western Australian Museum
Terrestrial Zoology
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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| Chthonioid pseudoscorpions: a phylogenetic analysis based on morphology |
| Author(s) |
Mark S Harvey |
| Info |
Talk category:
Systematics |
| Abstract |
The pseudoscorpion superfamily Chthonioidea is well defined and seemingly monophyletic based on previously published morphological and molecular datasets using multiple markers. However, the higher classification is not settled with several alterations over the past two decades. To assist resolve these issues, a phylogenetic analysis was performed using 150 chthonioid species placed in 38 of the 48 recognised genera. Parsimony analyses under equal weights provided little phylogenetic resolution. Implied weights analyses drastically improved the resolution of the trees and, in all analyses, Pseudotyrannochthoniidae were sister to the remaining chthonioids. In both equal and implied weights analyses, the taxa currently included in the families Tridenchthoniidae and Lechytiidae grouped strongly with the chthoniid genera Sathrochthonius and Sathrochthoniella. Of the remaining taxa, low concavity functions distinguished three other clades, Chthoniini, Tyrannochthoniini and the “apochthoniines” (Apochthonius + Kleptochthonius). Higher concavity functions retained Tyrannochthoniini and the “apochthoniines”, but divided Chthoniini into multiple clades. Proposed changes to the classification of the Chthonioidea are discussed. |
| Australian Assassins: phylogeny, diversity and biogeography of the Australian assassin spiders (Araneae: Archaeidae) |
| Author(s) |
Michael G Rix, Mark S Harvey |
| Info |
Talk category:
Systematics |
| Abstract |
The 'assassin spiders' of the family Archaeidae are an ancient and iconic lineage of basal araneomorph spiders, remarkable for their extraordinary appearance, specialised ecology, evolutionary antiquity and endemism on the southern continents. The Australian archaeid fauna is newly revised taxonomically and phylogenetically, revealing a diverse and highly endemic fauna characterised by mostly short-range endemic, reciprocally allopatric species. Molecular phylogenetic analyses provide strong evidence for a monophyletic clade of Australian Archaeidae and for the presence of three major endemic lineages, each with non-overlapping distributions in north-eastern Queensland, mid-eastern Australia and southern Australia, respectively. Phylogeographic results highlight the mode and tempo of archaeid speciation in Australia during the Miocene, and provide compelling evidence for the diversification of clades due to the Tertiary contraction and fragmentation of Australia's mesic biomes. Assassin spiders are among the most useful animal models for exploring biogeographic processes in mesic Australia, with the potential to provide new and significant insights into the evolution of the continent’s remaining rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests and southern-temperate heathlands. |
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