A molecular phylogeny of the Petaluridae (Odonata: Anisoptera): A 160-Million-Year-Old story of drift and extinction

• Published in: Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 2024-11, Vol.200, p.108185, Article 108185
• Main Authors: Tolman, Ethan R., Beatty, Christopher D., Kohli, Manpreet K., Abbott, John, Bybee, Seth M., Frandsen, Paul B., Stephen Gosnell, J., Guralnick, Robert, Kalkman, V.J., Newton, Lacie G., Suvorov, Anton, Ware, Jessica L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accessory genitalia; Anchored-hybrid enrichment; Biogeography; Divergence time estimation; Fossils; Morphology; Phylogenomics
• ISSN: 1055-7903; 1095-9513; 1095-9513
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2024.108185

[Display omitted] •Petaluridae is a relict dragonfly family, comprised of only eleven species known for their exclusive use of fen and bog habitats, burrowing behavior as nymphs, remarkably large adult body sizes, and extended lifespans.•Utilizing a dataset of over 900 loci, we reconstructed a maximum likelihood phylogeny to understand the evolutionary history of Petaluridae. We further examined intrafamilial relationships at “difficult nodes” through gene tree likelihoods and quartet scores.•Through divergence time estimation analysis, we trace the origin of the Petaluridae back to the early Cretaceous. The family comprises a Gondwanan and a Laurasian clade, which separated approximately 160 million years ago. Species within Petaluridae exhibit a wide range of ages, from 6 to 120 million years.•Our biogeographical analysis suggest that continental drift, land bridge exposure, and the uplift of mountain ranges played important roles in the divergence of Petaluridae. Despite their strategy of habitat specialization, Petaluridae species have persisted for tens of millions of years, an exception to the notion that specialization leads to extinction over long time scales. Petaluridae (Odonata: Anisoptera) is a relict dragonfly family, having diverged from its sister family in the Jurassic, of eleven species that are notable among odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) for their exclusive use of fen and bog habitats, their burrowing behavior as nymphs, large body size as adults, and extended lifespans. To date, several nodes within this family remain unresolved, limiting the study of the evolution of this peculiar family. Using an anchored hybrid enrichment dataset of over 900 loci we reconstructed the species tree of Petaluridae. To estimate the temporal origin of the genera within this family, we used a set of well-vetted fossils and a relaxed molecular clock model in a divergence time estimation analysis. We estimate that Petaluridae originated in the early Cretaceous and confirm the existence of monophyletic Gondwanan and Laurasian clades within the family. Our relaxed molecular clock analysis estimated that these clades diverged from their MRCA approximately 160 mya. Extant lineages within this family were identified to have persisted from 6 (Uropetala) to 120 million years (Phenes). Our biogeographical analyses focusing on a set of key regions suggest that divergence within Petaluridae is largely correlated with continental drift, the exposure of land bri