Only few molecular phylogenies on scorpion are available, thereby impeding on the study of morphology evolution in these animals. Here, we evaluated, using molecular data for the first time at a family level, the morphology evolution of enigmatic scorpions with a parametric approach. Our results suggested that morphology in these scorpions has evolved repeatedly and independently several times. Photograph by Jan Ove Rein.

Delimiting species in semisulcospirid freshwater snails has been problematic for widespread incongruence between morphological and mitochondrial markers. In the present study, we revealed significant morphological plasticity in Korean species and genealogical patterns that are indicative of mitochondrial paralogy and introgression. However, when accounting for these phenomena, the Korean taxa can be delineated essentially by means of comparative morphology.

The study shows that many species of native land planarians, a poorly studied group of small predators inhabiting humid forest soils, remain to be discovered in Europe. Species are disguised often under a similar external appearance; however, after examination of molecular and morphological features, we discovered no less than seven new species. This improved knowledge on the diversity of these worms in Europe opens the door to detailed ecological and biogeographical studies.

The subfamilies of the non-biting midges (Diptera : Chironomidae) are evolutionarily old, originating in the middle Triassic–Cretaceous period, with the monophyletic Tanypodinae diversifying from the late Jurassic. Within this subfamily, internal tribal relationships have been difficult to resolve despite much attention. Here, we use a multi-locus molecular phylogenetic approach and denser taxonomic sampling to test morphological hypotheses of tribal relationships. Photograph: ventral larval head of Zavrelimyia sp. (Chironomidae : Tanypodinae), by P. S. Cranston.

Recently, taxonomic revisions of the Stygnopsidae have increased noticeably; however, phylogenetic relationships among the family remain unknown. Herein, we present the first total evidence hypothesis of the family, with a new taxonomic approach, proposing two subfamilies and some nomenclatural changes. Also, we identified that some relevant morphological characters are homoplastic and that they should be considered in future taxonomic revisions.