A molecular phylogeny of the crane fly family Tipulidae (Diptera: Tipuloidea) and the evolution of their larval morphology and habitats
The Tipulidae are a diverse lineage of crane flies with 4360 known species and a near-global distribution yet no modern molecular phylogenetic analysis has been completed with a large number of taxa. Here we reconstruct a comprehensive phylogeny of the family Tipulidae. We sampled 289 taxa for an Anchored Hybrid Enrichment study. The AHE analysis resulted in a fully resolved and highly supported tree that yielded 5 subfamilies. We constructed a larval trait database to examine the evolution of larval habitats and morphology. We used a 116-trait database and found one character along with habitat that had a high phylogenetic signal and low interaction among the traits. Finally, we selected 5 Tipulid fossils and used them to calibrate AHE phylogeny. We recovered a family origin slightly older than known fossils at about 170mya, and rapid speciation and divergence starting about 100mya and intensifying at 65mya.