Batesian Mimicry Converges Towards Inaccuracy in Myrmecomorphic Spiders.

Batesian mimicry is an impressive example of convergent evolution driven by predation. However, the observation that many mimics only superficially resemble their models despite strong selective pressures is an apparent paradox. Here, we tested the 'perfecting hypothesis', that posits that inaccurate mimicry may represent a transitional stage at the macro-evolutionary scale by performing the hereto largest phylogenetic analysis (in terms of the number of taxa and genetic data) of ant-mimicking spiders across two speciose but independent clades, the jumping spider tribe Myrmarachnini (Salticidae) and the sac spider sub-family Castianeirinae (Corinnidae).

Ant mimicry in Australian plant bugs: a new genus (Heteroptera: Miridae: Austromirini: gen. nov.), eight new species, myrmecomorphic traits, host plants and distribution.

The Australian plant bug tribe Austromirini consists of ant-mimetic taxa which are poorly known, with no information of their phylogenetic relationships and ant-mimetic traits. In this study, we examined nearly 1000 ingroup specimens and developed a comprehensive morphological dataset comprising 37 characters, which was analysed both weighted and unweighted, using 'Tree analysis using New Technology' (TNT ) software. A single minimal length phylogenetic tree was found, comprising a monophyletic group of ant-mimetic taxa, that included Myrmecoroides rufescens , Myrmecoridea sp.

Morphological ant mimics: constrained to imperfection?

Adaptive evolution relies on both heritable variation and selection. Variation is the raw material upon which selection acts, so any mechanism that limits or prevents the generation of heritable variation reduces the power of selection to lead to adaptation. Such limitations are termed evolutionary constraints.

Chimairacoris flavipes sp. nov., (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Phylinae) from New Caledonia.

A new species, Chimairacoris flavipes Taszakowski & Cassis sp. nov. (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Phylinae), is described from New Caledonia.

Turrana ejuncida, a new species of Acanthocorini (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae) from Cape Range, Western Australia, with discussion of its systematic position and host plant associations.

The coreid genus Turrana Distant 1911 is redescribed, and a new species Turrana ejuncida sp. nov. is described from specimens collected from Cape Range National Park, Western Australia in 2019 and 2021.

Five new genera of the subfamily Cylapinae (Insecta, Heteroptera, Miridae) from Australia.

Cylapinae is one of the poorly studied groups within the megadiverse family Miridae (Insecta: Heteroptera). In this paper, five monotypic genera from Australia are described as new to science. Two of those taxa, and , and and are assigned to the tribe Cylapini.

Quantifying vertebrate zoogeographical regions of Australia using geospatial turnover in the species composition of mammals, birds, reptiles and terrestrial amphibians.

A geospatial analysis of 1,906,302 records of 1938 species of Australian vertebrates has shown that the original regions proposed in the 19th century, namely the Eyrean, Torresian and Bassian still hold. The analysis has shown that the Eyrean region has an east-west divide, forming two, possibly independent arid regions (Eastern Desert and Western Desert provinces), that are shaped by topography and rainfall. A revised and interim zoogeographical area taxonomy of the Australian region is presented herein.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Zicrona caerulea (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae) and its phylogenetic implications.

Zicrona caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758) is a cosmopolitan stink bug species, which belongs to the predatory subfamily Asopinae. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of Zicrona caerulea from Shanxi, China was sequenced for the first time, using next generation sequencing. The mitogenome was found to be 15,479 bp in length.

Do phytogeographic patterns reveal biomes or biotic regions?

We present the largest comparative biogeographical analysis that has complete coverage of Australia's geography (20 phytogeographical subregions), using the most complete published molecular phylogenies to date of large Australian plant clades (Acacia, Banksia and the eucalypts). Two distinct sets of areas within the Australian flora were recovered, using distributional data from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) and the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA): younger Temperate, Eremaean and Monsoonal biomes, and older southwest + west, southeast and northern historical biogeographical regions. The analyses showed that by partitioning the data into two sets, using either a Majority or a Frequency method to select taxon distributions, two equally valid results were found.

Revisiting habitat and lifestyle transitions in Heteroptera (Insecta: Hemiptera): insights from a combined morphological and molecular phylogeny.

Heteroptera, the true bugs, are part of the largest clade of non-holometabolous insects, the Hemiptera, and include > 42 000 described species in about 90 families. Despite progress in resolving phylogenetic relationships between and within infraorders since the first combined morphological and molecular analysis published in 1993 (29 taxa, 669 bp, 31 morphological characters), recent hypotheses have relied entirely on molecular data. Weakly supported nodes along the backbone of Heteroptera made these published phylogenies unsuitable for investigations into the evolution of habitats and lifestyles across true bugs.

gen. et sp. n., a minute halticine from the Philippines (Insecta, Heteroptera, Miridae, Orthotylinae).

is described from a single location in the Negros Oriental Province of the Philippines. The male and female genitalia are described and illustrated. On the basis of the genitalic characters, external morphology, and size and color, the new species is erected as a monotypic genus.

Description of an enigmatic new genus and new species of Australian Orthotylinae (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae) associated with the plant genus Eremophila.

A new genus and new species of Australian orthotyline is described: Warrumiris viridis gen. nov. et.

Conservation Biology: A Walking Stick's Redux on Lord Howe Island.

Arguably the world's rarest insect - the Lord Howe Island 'tree lobster' - is being brought back from the brink. A recent study has confirmed the identity of this species using genomic data, which backstops its reintroduction to this World Heritage listed oceanic island.

A remarkable new plant bug genus and species (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Deraocorinae) from the Australian wet tropics.

A new genus and new species of deraeocorine plant bug, Kalamemiris gen. nov. and Kalamemiris collessi sp.

Megadrymus brigalow n.sp. (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Rhyparochromidae: Drymini), a diminutive new species of seed bug from semi-evergreen vine thicket of the Queensland Brigalow Belt.

Megadrymus brigalow n. sp., a new species of seed bug, is described from semi-evergreen vine thicket in the Brigalow Belt region of Queensland, Australia.

Traumatic insemination in terrestrial arthropods.

Traumatic insemination is a bizarre form of mating practiced by some invertebrates in which males use hypodermic genitalia to penetrate their partner's body wall during copulation, frequently bypassing the female genital tract and ejaculating into their blood system. The requirements for traumatic insemination to evolve are stringent, yet surprisingly it has arisen multiple times within invertebrates. In terrestrial arthropods traumatic insemination is most prevalent in the true bug infraorder Cimicomorpha, where it has evolved independently at least three times.

Surviving in sympatry: paragenital divergence and sexual mimicry between a pair of traumatically inseminating plant bugs.

Reproductive interactions between species can carry significant costs (e.g., wasted time, energy, and gametes).

Towards an Australian Bioregionalisation Atlas: A provisional area taxonomy of Australia's biogeographical regions.

The large number, definition, varied application and validity of named Australian biogeographical regions reflect their ad hoc development via disparate methods or case study idiosyncracies. They do not represent a coherent system. In order to resolve these uncertainties an Australian Bioregionalisation Atlas is proposed as a provisional hierarchical classification, accounting for all known named areas.

Systematics of the lace bug genus Cottothucha Drake and Poor (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) with description of the first Australian species and its exaggerated nymph.

The lace bug genus Cottothucha is redescribed. Cottothucha kalathis from Australia is described as new to science. The fifth instar for C.

Human remains from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition of southwest China suggest a complex evolutionary history for East Asians.

Background: Later Pleistocene human evolution in East Asia remains poorly understood owing to a scarcity of well described, reliably classified and accurately dated fossils. Southwest China has been identified from genetic research as a hotspot of human diversity, containing ancient mtDNA and Y-DNA lineages, and has yielded a number of human remains thought to derive from Pleistocene deposits. We have prepared, reconstructed, described and dated a new partial skull from a consolidated sediment block collected in 1979 from the site of Longlin Cave (Guangxi Province).

Systematic methods, fossils, and relationships within Heteroptera (Insecta).

Three recent papers dealing with phylogenetic relationships within the Heteroptera are discussed and analysed. A character set representing 43 taxa and 78 characters is used to test theories presented in those papers. The conclusions of Grimaldi and Engel concerning the placement of the Cretaceous fossil taxon Cretopiesma in the Piesmatidae are rejected in favour of placement in the Aradidae.

Traumatic insemination in the plant bug genus Coridromius Signoret (Heteroptera: Miridae).

In traumatic insemination, males pierce females with hypodermic genitalia and ejaculate into the body cavity rather than into the genital tract. This has resulted in the evolution of female counter-adaptations in the form of paragenitalia to reduce the direct physical costs of mating. While rare in the animal kingdom, traumatic insemination is oddly prevalent in the true bug infraorder Cimicomorpha (Heteroptera), where it occurs in six families and is thought to have arisen twice.

Arthropod Cladistics: Combined Analysis of Histone H3 and U2 snRNA Sequences and Morphology.

Morphological, developmental, ultrastructural, and gene order characters are catalogued for the same set of arthropod terminals as we have scored in a recent study of histone H3 and U2 snRNA sequences (D. J. Colgan et al.