Stocktake Sale on now: wide range of books at up to 70% off!
Register      Login
Invertebrate Systematics Invertebrate Systematics Society
Systematics, phylogeny and biogeography
RESEARCH ARTICLE

The South American genus Cnemalobus (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cnemalobini): phylogeny and biogeographic analysis with the description of four new species from extra-Andean Patagonian mountains

Mariana Griotti https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1072-0581 A * , Melisa Olave A B , Paula Cornejo A C , Diego Miras A and Sergio Roig-Juñent A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Laboratorio de Entomología, Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas (IADIZA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mendoza, Argentina.

B Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina.

C Grupo de Investigaciones de la Biodiversidad (GIB), Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas (IADIZA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mendoza, Argentina.

* Correspondence to: mgriotti@mendoza-conicet.gob.ar

Handling Editor: Bruno Medeiros

Invertebrate Systematics 38, IS23044 https://doi.org/10.1071/IS23044
Submitted: 18 August 2023  Accepted: 2 May 2024  Published: 20 June 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing.

Abstract

The carabid beetle Cnemalobus Guérin-Ménéville, 1838 inhabits high- and lowland grasslands of southern South America. The highest diversity is found in the Patagonian Steppe, where distribution patterns are associated with latitude and elevation. Northern Patagonia, a large volcanic region with a complex geoclimatic history, exhibits elevated grades of endemism. However, a great deal remains unknown regarding diversification and biogeographical patterns for most of the endemic groups. We describe new Cnemalobus species restricted to isolated volcanoes from these extra-Andean mountain systems. We assess the phylogenetic relationships by updating the phylogeny of the genus and conduct a Bayesian binary Markov chain-Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis on the resulting phylogenetic tree to discuss the biogeographical distribution patterns. We also provide a taxonomic key to all currently known species of Cnemalobus from the Patagonian Steppe. Our phylogenetic analysis supports the monophyly of the new species Cnemalobus tromen sp. nov., Cnemalobus silviae sp. nov., Cnemalobus aucamahuida sp. nov. and Cnemalobus domuyo sp. nov. grouped with C. diamante and C. nevado, referred to as the ‘Extra-Andean’ mountain lineage. Biogeographical analysis recognises vicariant events as the most plausible explanation for the allopatric distributions of the new species. We hypothesise that these vicariant events could be related to climatic barriers that likely promoted speciation processes by generating geographical isolation in ancestral populations. Our findings contribute significantly to the biogeographical understanding of the Patagonian volcanic region, prompting new inquiries to unravel the speciation processes of the endemic biota in extra-Andean mountain systems.

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6A7585E8-5006-45BC-A1A3-F874F18A6049

Keywords: Andean lineage, BBM approach, Carabidae, Cnemalobini, DNA barcoding, extra-Andean mountain lineage, highland species, lowland species, Patagonian volcanoes.

References

Ali SS, Yu Y, Pfosser M, Wetschnig W (2012) Inferences of biogeographical histories within subfamily Hyacinthoideae using S-DIVA and Bayesian binary MCMC analysis implemented in RASP (Reconstruct Ancestral State in Phylogenies). Annals of Botany 109, 95-107.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Avila L, Perez C, Perez DR, Morando M (2011) Two new mountain lizard species of the Phymaturus genus (Squamata: Iguania) from northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. Zootaxa 2924, 1-21.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Baranzelli MC, Cosacov A, Rocamundi N, Issaly EA, Aguilar DL, Camps GA, Andraca-Gómez G, Petrinovic IA, Johnson LA, Sérsic AN (2020) Volcanism rather than climatic oscillations explains the shared phylogeographic patterns among ecologically distinct plant species in the southernmost areas of the south American arid diagonal. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 45, 125542.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bermúdez A, Delpino D (1989) La provincia basáltica andino cuyana. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 44, 35-55 [In Spanish].
| Google Scholar |

Cid-Arcos M, Campodonico JF (2019) Nueva especie de Cnemalobus Guérin-Méneville (Coleoptera: Carabidae) de la estepa patagónica de Aysén, Chile. Revista Chilena de Entomología 45, 429-434 [In Spanish].
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Corbalan V, Debandi G (2013) Resource segregation in two herbivorous species of mountain lizards from Argentina. Herpetological Journal 24, 201-208.
| Google Scholar |

Coronato A, Martinez O, Rabassa J (2004) Glaciations in Argentine Patagonia, Southern South America. In ‘Pleistocene Glaciations: Extent and Chronology’. (Eds J Ehlers, PL Gibbard) INQUA Working Group 5. pp. 49–67. (Elsevier: Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Díaz Gómez JM (2011) Estimating ancestral ranges: testing methods with a clade of neotropical lizards (Iguania: Liolaemidae). PLoS ONE 6(10), e26412.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Domínguez MC, Roig-Juñent S, Tassin JJ, Ocampo FC, Flores GE (2006) Areas of endemism of the Patagonian steppe: an approach based on insect distributional patterns using endemicity analysis. Journal of Biogeography 33, 1527-1537.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Erwin TL (1984) Composition and origin of the ground beetles fauna (Coleoptera, Carabidae). In ‘Ecology and biogeography in Sry Lanka’. (Ed. CH Fernando) pp. 371–379. (Dr Junk Publishers: The Hague, Netherlands)

Ferretti N (2014) Chaco ansilta new species from Mendoza province, Western Argentina (Araneae: Nemesiidae). Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias 86, 1887-1898.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Flores G (2000) Systematics of the Andean genera Falsopraocis and Antofagapraocis gen. n. (Coleoptera: Tenebrinidae) with descriptions of two new species. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 108, 52-75.
| Google Scholar |

Flores G (2007) Two new species of Psectrascelis (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) from western Argentina. Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 66, 91-97.
| Google Scholar |

Flores GE, Carrara R (2006) Two new species of Nyctelia Latreille from western Argentina, with zoogeographical and ecological remarks on the high mountain habitat (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Annales Zoologici 56, 487-495.
| Google Scholar |

Guérin-Ménéville F (1838) Inséctes du voyage de la Favorite. Magazine Zoology 8(9), 1-80 [In French].
| Google Scholar |

Hebert PDN, Ratmasimgham S, de Waard JR (2003) Barcoding animal life: cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 divergences among closely related species. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B – Biological Sciences 270, S96-S99.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Hoang DT, Chernomor O, von Haeseler A, Minh BQ, Vinh LS (2017) UFBoot2: improving the ultrafast bootstrap approximation. Molecular Biology and Evolution 35(2), 518-522.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kalyaanamoorthy S, Minh BQ, Wong TKF, von Haeseler A, Jermiin LS (2017) ModelFinder: fast model selection for accurate phylogenetic estimates. Nature Methods 14(6), 587-589.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Kimura M (1980) A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. Journal of Molecular Evolution 16, 111-120.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Lagos S, Roig-Juñent S (1997) Una nueva especie de Cnemalobus Guérin-Ménéville 1838 (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Revista Chilena de Entomología 24, 27-30 [In Spanish].
| Google Scholar |

Lewis PO (2001) A likelihood approach to estimating phylogeny from discrete morphological character data. Systematic Biology 50, 913-925.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Li Z, Li X, Song N, Tang H, Yin X (2020) The Mitochondrial Genome of Amara aulica (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Harpalinae) and Insights into the Phylogeny of Ground Beetles. Genes 11, 181.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Lobo F, Abdala C, Valdecantos S (2012) Morphological diversity and phylogenetic relationships within a South-American clade of iguanian lizards (Liolaemidae: Phymaturus). Zootaxa 3315, 1-41.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Lobo F, Barrasso DA, Hibbard T, Quipildor M, Slodki D, Valdecantos S, Basso NG (2021) Morphological and Genetic Divergence within the Phymaturus payuniae Clade (Iguania: Liolaemidae), with the Description of Two New Species. South American Journal of Herpetology 20, 42-66.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Maddison DR, Baker MD, Ober KA (1999) Phylogeny of carabid beetles as inferred from 18S ribosomal DNA (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Systematic Entomology 24, 103-138.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Martínez-Carretero E (2004) La Provincia Fitogeográfica de la Payunia. Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica 39, 195-226 [In Spanish].
| Google Scholar |

Morrone JJ (2014) Biogeographical regionalisation of the Neotropical region. Zootaxa 3782(1), 1-110.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Morrone JJ (2015) Biogeographical regionalisation of the Andean region. Zootaxa 3936(2), 207-236.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Nguyen L-T, Schmidt HA, von Haeseler A, Minh BQ (2014) IQ-TREE: a fast and effective stochastic algorithm for estimating maximum-likelihood phylogenies. Molecular Biology and Evolution 32(1), 268-274.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ober KA (2002) Phylogenetic relationships of the carabid subfamily Harpalinae (Coleoptera) based on molecular sequence data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 24, 228-248.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Ober KA, Maddisson D (2008) Phylogenetic relationships of tribes within Harpalinae (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as inferred from 28S ribosomal DNA and the wingless gene. Journal of Insect Science 8, 63.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Ojanguren-Affilastro AA, Fernández-Campón F, Lagos Silnik S, Mattoni C (2009) The genus Orobothriurus Maury in central Argentina with description of a new species from El Nevado mountain chain in Mendoza Province (Scorpiones: Bothriuridae). Zootaxa 2209, 28-42.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Olave M, Griotti M, Carrara R, Franchini P, Meyer A, Roig-Juñent SA (2023) Historical climate change dynamics facilitated speciation and hybridization between highland and lowland species of Baripus ground beetles from Patagonia. Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists 2, 1-16.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Puillandre N, Brouillet S, Achaz G (2021) ASAP: assemble species by automatic partitioning. Molecular Ecology and Resources 21, 609-620.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Rabassa J, Coronato A, Martínez O (2011) Late Cenozoic glaciations in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego: an updated review. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 103, 316-335.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ramos VA, Folguera A (2011) Payenia volcanic province in the Southern Andes: an appraisal of an exceptional Quaternary tectonic setting. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 201, 53-64.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent S (1993a) Las especies argentinas de Cnemalobus Guérin-Ménéville 1838 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cnemalobini). Gayana 57, 285-304 [In Spanish].
| Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent S (1993b) Cnemalobini, una tribu de Carabidae (Coleoptera) endémica de América del Sur. Acta Entomológica Chilena 18, 7-18 [In Spanish].
| Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent S (1994) Las especies chilenas de Cnemalobus Guérin-Ménéville 1838 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cnemalobini). Revista Chilena de Entomología 21, 5-30 [In Spanish].
| Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent S (2002) Nuevas especies de Cnemalobus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) y consideraciones filogenéticas y biogeográficas sobre el género. Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 61, 51-72 [In Spanish].
| Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent S, Quiroga CR (2021) Nuevas especies de carábidos y consideraciones biogeográficas del Arco peripampásico. Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 80(1), 10-22 [In Spanish].
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent S, Sallenave S (2005) Una especie nueva de Trechisibus de la Argentina (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 64, 87-92 [In Spanish].
| Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent S, Carrara R, Ruiz-Manzanos E, Agrain F, Sackmann P, Tognelli MF (2007) Phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic considerations of four new species of Cnemalobus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from Patagonia. Insect Systematics and Evolution 38, 267-292.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent SA, Domínguez MC, Griotti M, Agrain FA, Campos-Soldini P, Carrara R, Cheli G, Fernández-Campón F, Flores GE, et al. (2018) The Patagonian Steppe biogeographic province: Andean region or South American transition zone? Zoologica Scripta 47, 623-629.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent SA, Flores G, Carrara R, Fernández-Campón F, Scheibler E, Corbalán V, Ojeda A, San Blas G, Cheli G, Chani Posse M, Agrain F, Domínguez C, Lagos S, Scollo AM, Griotti M (2019) La Payunia, el reino de los volcanes de la Estepa Patagónica. Parte I. Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 30, 8-11 [In Spanish].
| Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent S, Silvestro VA, Cheli GH (2020) Cladistic analysis of Cnemalobus (Coleoptera: Carabidae), fossorial adaptations and description of a new species. Zoologischer Anzeiger 284, 43-52.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Roig-Juñent S, Cisterna G, Griotti M (2022) New mountain species of Baripus (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Broscini) from northern Patagonia Biogeographic Province and an update on the phylogeny of the genus. Invertebrate Systematics 36, 226-243.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ronquist F, Huelsenbeck JP (2003) MrBayes3: Bayesian phylogenetic inference under mixed models. Bioinformatics 19, 1572-1574.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Sambrook J, Russell DW (2006) ‘Standard ethanol precipitation of DNA in microcentrifuge tubes’, 4th edn. (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: New York, NY, USA)

Sérsic AN, Cosacov A, Cocucci AA, Johnson LA, Pozner R, Avila LJ, Sites Jr JW, Morando M (2011) Emerging phylogeographical patterns of plants and terrestrial vertebrates from Patagonia. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 103, 475-94.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Tamura K, Stecher G, Kumar S (2021) MEGA11: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis version 11. Molecular Biology and Evolution 38, 3022-3027.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Yu Y, Blair C, He X (2020) RASP 4: ancestral state reconstruction tool for multiple genes and characters. Molecular Biology and Evolution 37, 604-606.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |