title: A comprehensive phylogeny of beetles reveals the evolutionary origins of a superradiation.
abstract: Beetles represent almost one-fourth of all described species, and knowledge about their relationships and evolution adds to our understanding of biodiversity. We performed a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Coleoptera inferred from three genes and nearly 1900 species, representing more than 80% of the world's recognized beetle families. We defined basal relationships in the Polyphaga supergroup, which contains over 300,000 species, and established five families as the earliest branching lineages. By dating the phylogeny, we found that the success of beetles is explained neither by exceptional net diversification rates nor by a predominant role of herbivory and the Cretaceous rise of angiosperms. Instead, the pre-Cretaceous origin of more than 100 present-day lineages suggests that beetle species richness is due to high survival of lineages and sustained diversification in a variety of niches.
authors: Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.
authors: Toby
authors: T
authors: Hunt
authors: Johannes
authors: J
authors: Bergsten
authors: Zuzana
authors: Z
authors: Levkanicova
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Papadopoulou
authors: Oliver St
authors: OS
authors: John
authors: Ruth
authors: R
authors: Wild
authors: Peter M
authors: PM
authors: Hammond
authors: Dirk
authors: D
authors: Ahrens
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Balke
authors: Michael S
authors: MS
authors: Caterino
authors: Jesús
authors: J
authors: Gómez-Zurita
authors: Ignacio
authors: I
authors: Ribera
authors: Timothy G
authors: TG
authors: Barraclough
authors: Milada
authors: M
authors: Bocakova
authors: Ladislav
authors: L
authors: Bocak
authors: Alfried P
authors: AP
authors: Vogler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D032462:Cycadopsida; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005580:Fossils; D017344:Genes, Insect; D019684:Magnoliopsida; D010802:Phylogeny