Search results for "Paraphyly"

Revision of the genusTrogulus Latreille: the morphologically divergentTrogulus torosusspecies-group of the Balkan Peninsula (Opiliones: Dyspnoi: Trog…

2013

Within the species-rich European harvestman genus Trogulus Latreille, 1802, the Balkan Trogulus torosus species-group as defined by Schonhofer and Martens is revised. The group is remarkable because it includes the world's largest Opiliones species, Trogulus torosus Simon, 1885, and Trogulus ozimeci sp. nov. is the first member of the family showing obvious adaption to subterranean life. According to nuclear 28S and mitochondrial cytochrome b gene data, the T. torosus species-group and the Trogulus hirtus species-group form a monophyletic unit. Only the former is treated here as a paraphyletic group. Despite this paraphyly, the T. torosus species-group members share a number of morphologica…

Paraphyly of the Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) suggested from cytochrome b sequences

2002

The phylogenetic relationships of the Blue Tit-Azure Tit assemblage (genus Parus; Aves: Passeriformes) were studied using mitochondrial DNA sequences of 24 specimens representing seven subspecies from Eurasia and North Africa. Previous work based on comparative morphological and acoustic data suggested a division of the Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) into two species. Our analyses clearly indicate that the Blue Tit represents a paraphyletic assemblage, including a European/Middle Asian clade that is the sister group to the Azure Tit (Parus cyanus) and a North African clade. The North African clade (teneriffae subspecies group) is a sister group to the European Blue Tit/Azure Tit clade. We sugge…

Molecular phylogeny of Old World swifts (Aves: Apodiformes, Apodidae, Apus and Tachymarptis) based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers.

2011

We provide a molecular phylogeny for Old World swifts of genera Apus and Tachymarptis (tribe Apodini) based on a taxon-complete sampling at the species level. Phylogenetic reconstructions were based on two mitochondrial (cytochrome b, 12S rRNA) and three nuclear markers (introns of fibrinogen and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase plus anonymous marker 12884) while the myoglobin intron 2 did not show any intergeneric variation or phylogenetic signal among the target taxa at all. In contrast to previous hypotheses, the two genera Apus and Tachymarptis were shown as reciprocally monophyletic in all reconstructions. Apus was consistently divided into three major clades: (1) East Asian cl…

A novel family of tRNA-derived SINEs in the colugo and two new retrotransposable markers separating dermopterans from primates.

2003

Abstract Short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) provide a near homoplasy free and copious source of molecular evolutionary markers with precisely defined character polarity. Used as molecular cladistic markers in presence/absence analyses, they represent a powerful complement to phylogenetic reconstructions that are based on sequence comparisons on the level of nucleotide substitutions. Recent sequence comparisons of large data sets incorporating a broad eutherian taxonomic sample have led to considerations of the different primate infraorders to constitute a paraphyletic group. Statistically significant support against the monophyly of primates has been obtained by clustering the flyi…

Platyzoan paraphyly based on phylogenomic data supports a noncoelomate ancestry of spiralia.

2014

Based on molecular data three major clades have been recognized within Bilateria: Deuterostomia, Ecdysozoa, and Spiralia. Within Spiralia, small-sized and simply organized animals such as flatworms, gastrotrichs, and gnathostomulids have recently been grouped together as Platyzoa. However, the representation of putative platyzoans was low in the respective molecular phylogenetic studies, in terms of both, taxon number and sequence data. Furthermore, increased substitution rates in platyzoan taxa raised the possibility that monophyletic Platyzoa represents an artifact due to long-branch attraction. In order to overcome such problems, we employed a phylogenomic approach, thereby substantially…

Independent host switching events by digenean parasites of cetaceans inferred from ribosomal DNA

2015

Cetaceans harbour a unique fauna of digeneans whose origin and relationships have sparked considerable debate during recent decades. Disparity in the species reported indicates that they do not share close affinities, but their unusual morphology has made their taxonomic identities and phylogenetic positions uncertain. Here we use sequence data to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of the main species of flukes infecting cetaceans. We sequenced the 18S, 28S and internal transcribed spacer 2 rDNA of digenean species representing all known families reported from cetaceans: Braunina cordiformis (Brauninidae), Ogmogaster antarcticus (Notocotylidae), Pholeter gastrophilus (Heterophyidae)…

2014

The taxon Syndermata comprises the biologically interesting wheel animals (“Rotifera”: Bdelloidea + Monogononta + Seisonidea) and thorny-headed worms (Acanthocephala), and is central for testing superordinate phylogenetic hypotheses (Platyzoa, Gnathifera) in the metazoan tree of life. Recent analyses of syndermatan phylogeny suggested paraphyly of Eurotatoria (free-living bdelloids and monogononts) with respect to endoparasitic acanthocephalans. Data of epizoic seisonids, however, were absent, which may have affected the branching order within the syndermatan clade. Moreover, the position of Seisonidea within Syndermata should help in understanding the evolution of acanthocephalan endoparas…

Parallel evolution of flower reduction in two alpineSoldanellaspecies (Primulaceae)

2014

The European endemic Soldanella has traditionally been divided into two morphologically well-defined sections. Section Tubiflores contains two species growing in high-elevation habitats, whereas most of the 14 species of section Soldanella inhabit montane forests. Section Tubiflores has a reduced floral morphology compared with section Soldanella. A previous phylogenetic study based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and AFLP data has revealed that, although the genus Soldanella itself is monophyletic, both sections are paraphyletic. Soldanella alpina (section Soldanella) forms a clade with S. minima and S. pusilla (section Tubiflores), and the grouping of S. alpina with S. pusilla has be…

Three intercontinental disjunctions in Papaveraceae subfamily Chelidonioideae: evidence from chloroplast DNA

1995

An RFLP analysis of the chloroplast genome of Papaveraceae subfam. Chelidonioideae resulted in one most parsimonious tree consisting of three monophyletic groups. Each group contains intercontinental disjunct taxa. Whereas Eomecon/Sanguinaria and Stylophorum are examples for the well known E Asian — eastern N American disjunction, the E Asian -C and S American disjunction in Macleaya/Bocconia is rare. The genus Stylophorum in this analysis is paraphyletic. The N American Stylophorum diphyllum is sister group to the Old World members of Stylophorum and Chelidonium. All American representatives of the subfamily possess distinctive morphological features. This might be the result of Tertiary a…

Molecular phylogeny of the Old World representatives of Papaveraceae subfamily Papaveroideae with special emphasis on the genus Meconopsis

1995

The RFLP-analysis of PCR amplified cpDNA fragments of 42 representatives of Papaveraceae subfam. Papaveroideae resulted in six most parsimonious cladograms. The subfamily can be divided into a New World group (Arctomecon, Argentone, Canbya, Romneya and Platystemon) and an Old World group (Meconopsis, Papaver s.l. and Roemeria) containing Stylomecon heterophylla and Papaver californicum as New World taxa. In the Old World group neither Meconopsis nor Papaver are monophyletic. Whereas Meconopsis consists of three clades, Papaver comprises five clades, with Roemeria as sister group to P. sect. Argemonidium and Stylomecon as sister group to P. californicum. Various lines of evidence suggest tha…