Dispersal and speciation of East African mountain bushcrickets of the genus Phlesirtes (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae, Conocephalini) related to climate fluctuations. (31st October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hemp, Claudia; Kuechler, Stefan M.; Kehl, Siegfried; Waegele, Johann W.; Hemp, Andreas
• Is Part Of: Systematic entomology. Volume 44:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 408
• Page End: 417
• Publication Date: 2018-10-31
• Subjects: Insects -- Classification -- Periodicals; Entomology -- Periodicals; 595.7012
• DOI: 10.1111/syen.12332
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0307-6970

Abstract

Abstract: A phylogeny of the genus Phlesirtes Bolivar is presented, based on new sequence data of three genes (16S rDNA, COI, H3). Species of the genus Phlesirtes (subtribe Karniellina of the Tribe Conocephalini) occupy habitats of montane to afroalpine grasslands in East Africa. Phlesirtes is the most species‐rich genus of the subtribe Karniellina, a group of small flightless Ensifera restricted to eastern Africa. Taken together, the biogeographical patterns seen in Phlesirtes and its molecular phylogeny suggest a migration scenario: the mountain ranges acting as stepping stones, enabling a spread of Phlesirtes ancestors during periods of favourable climatic conditions in the past. The Pleistocene inland volcanoes, such as Mt Kenya or Mt Kilimanjaro, allow us to date speciation processes within the genus Phlesirtes . It is suggested that cooler humid periods of the past 3 Ma boosted speciation of Phlesirtes in East Africa. Abstract : The molecular phylogeny of 15 of the 19 known Phlesirtes species is presented. A statistical dispersal‐vicariance analysis (S‐DIVA) suggests that several migration events triggered by climatic fluctuations of the past 3 Ma led to the biogeographical pattern we see today in Phlesirtes . Cooler humid periods of the past 3 Ma boosted speciation of Phlesirtes in East Africa.