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1. 50 Shades of Red: the red-reticulate group of Goniobranchus (Heterobranchia: Nudibranchia: Chromodorididae)

   Bonomo, L; Soong, GY; Reimer, J; Gosliner, T (August 2022, World Congress of Malacology Spixiana)

   The Chromodorididae family tree has been refined in recent years via molecular phylogenetic analyses which have clarified many relationships between taxa. The genus Goniobranchus is one clade within Chromodorididae that was previously included within the genus Chromodoris. However, based on recent molecular phylogenetic results, Chromodoris was determined to be non-monophyletic and Goniobranchus was resurrected. In this study, we performed molecular and morphological analyses to resolve the internal relationships among Goniobranchus species, specifically the red-reticulate species complex of three previously described species, Goniobranchus tinctorius, G. reticulatus, and G. alderi, which display a red network of lines over a white mantle and are widely distributed across the Indo-Pacific Ocean. We sequenced two mitochondrial genes (COI and 16S) and one nuclear gene (H3) for 339 Goniobranchus specimens, and in our phylogenetic analyses the red-reticulate species group emerged as a monophyly. This current work has indicated there are at least eleven distinct species within this species complex, including the only three previously described species and another described species, G. splendidus, was added to this clade. The molecular data and the morphological differences among species will be discussed, and we present a possible way forward to clarify the taxonomy of the red-reticulate species complex. 

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2. Enigmas no longer: using ultraconserved elements to place several unusual hawk taxa and address the non-monophyly of the genus Accipiter (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae)

   https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blae028  

   Catanach, Therese_A; Halley, Matthew_R; Pirro, Stacy (March 2024, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society)

   Abstract Hawks, eagles, and their relatives (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae) are a diverse and charismatic clade of modern birds, with many members that are instantly recognized by the general public. However, surprisingly little is known about the relationships among genera within Accipitridae, and several studies have suggested that some genera (in particular, the megadiverse genus Accipiter) are not monophyletic. Here, we combine a large new dataset obtained from ultraconserved elements, generated from whole genome sequencing of 134 species, with publicly available legacy markers (i.e. a suite of commonly sequenced mitochondrial and nuclear genes) to infer a well-supported, time-calibrated phylogeny of 237 extant or recently extinct species. Our densely sampled phylogeny, which includes 90% of recognized species, confirms the non-monophyly of Accipiter and provides a sufficient basis to revise the genus-level taxonomy, such that all genera in Accipitridae represent monophyletic groups. 

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3. Phylogenetic review of the millipede genus Cherokia Chamberlin, 1949 (Polydesmida, Xystodesmidae)

   https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1106.81386  

   Vasquez-Valverde, Luisa Fernanda; Marek, Paul E. (June 2022, ZooKeys)

   The millipede genus Cherokia Chamberlin, 1949 is a monospecific taxon, with the type species Cherokia georgiana (Bollman, 1889). The last revision of the genus was made by Hoffman (1960) where he established three subspecies. Here we used molecular phylogenetics to assess the genus and evaluate whether it is a monophyletic group, and if the subspecies are each monophyletic. We included material from literature records and three natural history collections. Newly collected samples were obtained through a citizen science project. Morphological characters underlying subspecies groups—the shape of the paranota, body size, and coloration—were evaluated. A molecular phylogeny of the genus was estimated based on DNA sequences for seven gene loci, and a species delimitation analysis was used to evaluate the status of the subspecies. The documented geographical range of Cherokia in the United States was expanded to include a newly reported state record (Virginia) and about 160 new localities compared to the previously known range. Morphological characters, which included the shape of the paranota and body size that had been historically used to establish subspecies, showed clinal variation with a direct relationship with geographical distribution and elevation, but not with phylogeny. Coloration was highly variable and did not accord with geography or phylogeny. The phylogeny recovered Cherokia as a monophyletic lineage, and the species delimitation test supported the existence of a single species. The subspecies Cherokia georgiana ducilla (Chamberlin, 1939) and Cherokia georgiana latassa Hoffman, 1960 have been synonymized with Cherokia georgiana . The molecular and morphological evidence showed that Cherokia is a monospecific genus with the sole species, Cherokia georgiana , being geographically widespread and highly variable in its morphology. 

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4. Discovery of New Genera Challenges the Subtribal Classification of Tok-Tok Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Sepidiini)

   https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixab006  

   Gearner, Olivia M; Kamiński, Marcin J; Kanda, Kojun; Swichtenberg, Kali; Smith, Aaron D (March 2021, Insect Systematics and Diversity)

   Marvaldi, Adriana (Ed.)

   Abstract Sepidiini is a speciose tribe of desert-inhabiting darkling beetles, which contains a number of poorly defined taxonomic groups and is in need of revision at all taxonomic levels. In this study, two previously unrecognized lineages were discovered, based on morphological traits, among the extremely speciose genera Psammodes Kirby, 1819 (164 species and subspecies) and Ocnodes Fåhraeus, 1870 (144 species and subspecies), namely the Psammodes spinosus species-group and Ocnodes humeralis species-group. In order to test their phylogenetic placement, a phylogeny of the tribe was reconstructed based on analyses of DNA sequences from six nonoverlapping genetic loci (CAD, wg, COI JP, COI BC, COII, and 28S) using Bayesian and maximum likelihood inference methods. The aforementioned, morphologically defined, species-groups were recovered as distinct and well-supported lineages within Molurina + Phanerotomeina and are interpreted as independent genera, respectively, Tibiocnodes Gearner & Kamiński gen. nov. and Tuberocnodes Gearner & Kamiński gen. nov. A new species, Tuberocnodes synhimboides Gearner & Kamiński sp. nov., is also described. Furthermore, as the recovered phylogenetic placement of Tibiocnodes and Tuberocnodes undermines the monophyly of Molurina and Phanerotomeina, an analysis of the available diagnostic characters for those subtribes is also performed. As a consequence, Phanerotomeina is considered as a synonym of the newly redefined Molurina sens. nov. Finally, spectrograms of vibrations produced by substrate tapping of two Molurina species, Toktokkus vialis (Burchell, 1822) and T. synhimboides, are presented. 

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5. Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the temperate Gondwanan family Triaenonychidae (Opiliones : Laniatores) reveals pre-Gondwanan regionalisation, common vicariance, and rare dispersal

   https://doi.org/10.1071/IS19069  

   Baker, Caitlin M.; Sheridan, Kate; Derkarabetian, Shahan; Pérez-González, Abel; Vélez, Sebastian; Giribet, Gonzalo (January 2020, Invertebrate Systematics)

   null (Ed.)

   Triaenonychidae Sørensen in L. Koch, 1886 is a large family of Opiliones with ~480 described species broadly distributed across temperate forests in the Southern Hemisphere. However, it remains poorly understood taxonomically, as no comprehensive phylogenetic work has ever been undertaken. In this study we capitalise on samples largely collected by us during the last two decades and use Sanger DNA-sequencing techniques to produce a large phylogenetic tree with 300 triaenonychid terminals representing nearly 50% of triaenonychid genera and including representatives from all the major geographic areas from which they are known. Phylogenetic analyses using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods recover the family as diphyletic, placing Lomanella Pocock, 1903 as the sister group to the New Zealand endemic family Synthetonychiidae Forster, 1954. With the exception of the Laurasian representatives of the family, all landmasses contain non-monophyletic assemblages of taxa. To determine whether this non-monophyly was the result of Gondwanan vicariance, ancient cladogenesis due to habitat regionalisation, or more recent over-water dispersal, we inferred divergence times. We found that most divergence times between landmasses predate Gondwanan breakup, though there has been at least one instance of transoceanic dispersal – to New Caledonia. In all, we identify multiple places in the phylogeny where taxonomic revision is needed, and transfer Lomanella outside of Triaenonychidae in order to maintain monophyly of the family. 

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