Historical biogeography of the hyperdiverse hidden snout weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Cryptorhynchinae)

• Published in: Systematic Entomology
• Main Authors: Letsch, Harald, Balke, Michael, Toussaint, Emmanuel F.A., Riedel, Alexander
• Other Authors: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2019
• Subjects: Insect Science; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; New Zealand; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/syen.12396; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fsyen.12396; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/syen.12396; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/syen.12396

Abstract The first dated phylogeny of the weevil subfamily Cryptorhynchinae is presented within a framework of Curculionoidea. The inferred pattern and timing of weevil family relationships are generally congruent with previous studies, but our data are the first to suggest a highly supported sister‐group relationship between Attelabidae and Belidae. Our biogeographical inferences suggest that Cryptorhynchinae s.s. originated in the Late Cretaceous ( c . 86 Ma) in South America. Within the ‘ Acalles group’ and the ‘ Cryptorhynchus group’, several independent dispersal events to the Western Palaearctic via the Nearctic occurred in the Late Cretaceous and Early Paleogene. A second southern route via Antarctica may have facilitated the colonization of Australia in the Late Cretaceous ( c . 82 Ma), where a diverse Indo‐Australian clade probably emerged c . 73 Ma. In the Early Eocene ( c . 50–55 Ma), several clades independently dispersed from Australia to proto‐New Guinea, i.e. the tribe Arachnopodini s.l., the ‘ Rhynchodes group’ and the genus Trigonopterus . New Zealand was first colonized in the Late Palaeocene ( c . 60 Ma). Divergence time estimations and biogeographical reconstructions indicate that the colonization of New Guinea is older than expected from current geological reconstructions of the region.