Evolutionary History of the Complex Polymorphic Dobsonfly Genus
Systematic Entomology (2018), 43, 568–595 DOI: 10.1111/syen.12287 Evolutionary history of the complex polymorphic dobsonfly genus Neoneuromus (Megaloptera: Corydalidae) , , , FAN YANG1 *, WENCHENG CHANG1 2 *, FUMIO HAYASHI3, JESSICA GILLUNG4,5, YUNLAN JIANG1, DING YANG1 andXINGYUE LIU1 1Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China, 2Shanghai Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center, Shanghai, China, 3Department of Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan, 4California State Collection of Arthropods, Sacramento, CA, U.S.A. and 5Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A. Abstract. The dobsonfly genus Neoneuromus van der Weele is endemic to the Oriental region. Species possess highly variable body and wing colouration and markings, not only among species but also among conspecific individuals of certain species. This stark polymorphism hinders accurate species identification, and obscures an undocumented species diversity as well as our understanding of the evolutionary history of this genus. We used multiple methods of molecular identification combined with morphological evidence to delimitate species, circumscribing a total of 13 species in Neoneuromus.Five new species are herein described: Neoneuromus indistinctus Liu, Hayashi & Yang, sp.n., Neoneuromus maculatus Liu, Hayashi & Yang, sp.n., Neoneuromus niger Liu, Hayashi & Yang, sp.n., Neoneuromus similis Liu, Hayashi & Yang, sp.n. and Neoneuromus vanderweelei Liu, Hayashi & Yang, sp.n. The dated phylogeny with reconstructed ancestral areas indicates an initial divergence of Neoneuromus during the mid-Eocene. A broad area including northeastern India and northern Indochina could be a centre for early divergence of the genus, while complex dispersal and vicariance events dating from the late Eocene to the Pliocene probably shaped the present diversity and distribution of the genus.
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