Hexapod origins: monophyletic or paraphyletic?
Recent morphological and molecular evidence has changed interpretations of arthropod phylogeny and evolution. Here we compare complete mitochondrial genomes to show that Collembola, a wingless group traditionally considered as basal to all insects, appears instead to constitute a separate evolutionary lineage that branched much earlier than the separation of many crustaceans and insects and independently adapted to life on land. Therefore, the taxon Hexapoda, as commonly defined to include all six-legged arthropods, is not monophyletic.
Nardi
Francesco
F
Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Siena, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy. nardifra@unisi.it
Spinsanti
Giacomo
G
Boore
Jeffrey L
JL
Carapelli
Antonio
A
Dallai
Romano
R
Frati
Francesco
F
D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D001482:Base Composition; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003445:Crustacea / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D007313:Insecta / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial