The phylogeny and evolution of the "Lower Neoptera" (Insecta)
Final Report Abstract
The "Lower Neoptera" comprise 9 of the 11 principal lineages of neopteran insects (excluding Acercaria and Holometabola): the species-rich Orthoptera and Dictyoptera, the generalised Plecoptera, the highly specialized Phasmatodea, Embioptera, and Dermaptera, and the small “orders” Grylloblattodea, Mantophasmatodea, and Zoraptera. In the years preceding the project, considerable efforts had been made to reconstruct the phylogeny of the lower neopteran insects. Nevertheless, the relationships of the “orders” had remained largely unclear and the available morphological data very fragmentary. Moreover, the evolution of important character systems was insufficiently understood, including for instance the flight apparatus (e.g., secondary flightlessness), acoustic organs and sound producing devices, and the genital apparatus. The central objective of the joint project on the "The phylogeny and evolution of the ‘Lower Neoptera‘ (Insecta)" was to substantially improve the knowledge of the morphology of all body regions of key taxa of the abovementioned groups, using and optimizing state of the art methods (e.g., synchrotron X-ray tomography, confocal laser scanning microscopy, computer aided 3D-reconstruction and drawing) and to use the obtained data sets for phylogenetic analyses, the reconstruction of character evolution, and for developing evolutionary scenarios. For the first time a very comprehensive and well documented data set for different body regions and additional character systems (e.g., development, sperm ultrastructure) was compiled, culminating in a data matrix of several hundred characters. Morphological results from the project, often combined with functional implications and (preliminary) phylogenetic analyses, were published in more than 40 articles in ISI-listed journals. Phylogenetic analyses of the entire data set will be published. During the project intensive and very productive cooperations were established with other groups (e.g., Prof. Machida, Prof. Dallai) and a major achievement was a close link with the 1KITE consortium (www.1kite.org). The obtained morphological data play an important role in the 1KITE project. Reciprocally the 1KITE phylogeny is an ideal backbone for evaluating the character evolution on the phenotypic level and to develop robust and complex evolutionary scenarios. The investigations of extant insects were supplemented with analyses of fossils from different geological periods. It was possible, for instance, to consolidate several Palaeozoic insect groups of hitherto uncertain phylogenetic affinities in the taxon Paoliida, which is most likely the extinct sistergroup of Dictyoptera and therefore a key taxon.
Publications
- (2012): The fine structure of the female reproductive system of Zorotypus caudelli Karny (Zoraptera). Arthropod Structure and Development 41: 51–63
Dallai R., Mercati D., Gottardo M., Machida R., Mashimo Y. & Beutel R.G.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2011.08.003) - (2012): The gonangulum: a reassessment of its morphology, homology, and phylogenetic significance. Arthropod Structure & Development 41(4): 373–394
Klass K.-D., Matushkina N. & Kaidel J.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2012.03.001) - (2012): The identification of concerted convergence in insect heads corroborates Palaeoptera. Systematic Biology 162(2): 250–263
Blanke A., Greve C., Wipfler B., Beutel R., Holland B. & Misof B.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/sys091) - (2013): Polyneoptera or “lower Neoptera” - new light on old and difficult phylogenetic problems. Atti dell'Accademia Nazionale Italiana di Entomologia, Anno LXI, 2013: 133-142
Beutel R.G., Wipfler B., Gottardo M. & Dallai R.
- (2014): Antennal heart morphology supports relationship of Zoraptera with polyneopteran insects. Systematic Entomology 39: 800–805
Wipfler B., Pass G.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12088) - (2014): Insect morphology in the age of phylogenomics: innovative techniques and its future role in systematics. Entomological Science 17: 1–24
Friedrich F., Matsumura Y., Pohl H., Bai M., Hörnschemeyer T., Beutel R.G.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/ens.12053) - (2014): Phylogenomics resolves the timing and pattern of insect evolution. Science 346: 763–767
Misof B., Liu S., Meusemann K., Peters R.S., Donath A., Mayer C., Frandsen P.B., Ware J., Flouri T., Beutel R.G., Niehuis O., Petersen M., Izquierdo-Carrasco F., Wappler T., Rust J. et al.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1257570) - (2015): Cephalic anatomy of Zorotypus weidneri New, 1978: new evidence for a placement of Zoraptera. Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny 73(1): 85- 105
Matsumura Y., Wipfler B., Pohl H., Dallai R., Machida R., Mashimo Y., Câmera J.T., Rafael J.A. & Beutel R.G.
- (2015): The thorax of Mantophasmatodea, the morphology of flightlessness and the evolution of the neopteran insects. Cladistics 31: 50–70
Wipfler B., Klug R., Ge S.-Q., Bai M., Yang X.-K. & Hörnschemeyer T.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12068)
