Phylogeny indicates polyphyly in Cnodocentron (Trichoptera: Xiphocentronidae): biogeography and revision of New World species (Caenocentron)

Abstract

Cnodocentron has a disjunct Laurasian distribution, with species in South-East Asia and the New World. It is divided into two subgenera: Cnodocentron and Caenocentron. Here, we infer the evolutionary history of the genus through phylogenetic and biogeographic data combining COI and 46 morphological characters. Phylogenetic relationships and divergence-time estimation were simultaneously inferred through Bayesian inference. The dating analysis was performed through relaxed morphological and molecular clocks. The historical biogeography was investigated using the dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis model. Our results indicate the polyphyly of the genus Cnodocentron, with each subgenus being more related to other genera than to each other. Therefore, the subgenus Caenocentron is elevated to genus status here. The biogeographical analysis showed that the Oriental Cnodocentron diverged in the Indian subcontinent during the Middle Eocene, while the New World Caenocentron stat. nov. originated in the Chortis Block in the Late Eocene. The dispersal of Caenocentron to South America occurred only after the Late Miocene, around 10 Mya. Additionally, we provide a revision of Caenocentron, with an identification key and description of the male and female of two new species from Costa Rica: Caenocentron carlosdelarosai sp. nov. and Caenocentron rafamoralesi sp. nov..