UCE sequencing for Pogonomyrmex phylogenomics
The harvester ant genus Pogonomyrmex is common in arid regions of North America, South America, and Hispaniola. Here, we use ultraconserved elements (UCEs) to infer the most comprehensive phylogeny of the genus to date. Our inferred topology largely supports previously hypothesized Pogonomyrmex evolutionary relationships and species groups. Our divergence dating analysis substantially pushes back the age of both Pogonomyrmex and the Pogonomyrmecini tribe, suggesting an early Eocene origin for Pogonomyrmex. We infer that Pogonomyrmex likely originated within the Pacific dominion ecoregion of Northern South America. Pogonomyrmex (excluding the Pogonomyrmex mayri clade) likely adapted to cooler and drier climates in the middle Eocene