Cladistics 13,161–186 (1997) WWW http://www.apnet.com A Celebration of Systematics Abstracts of the 15th Meeting of the Willi Hennig Society, 15–20 December 1996, University of Cape Town, South Africa MOLECULES AND MORPHOLOGY IN greater than that between Homo and Pan. On the basis EVOLUTION: THE CASE OF SUMATRAN of comparisons of complete mtDNAs we have recently AND BORNEAN ORANGUTANS proposed that the two orangutans should be recog- nized as distinct species (Xu and Arnason, 1996). The Sumatran and Bornean orangutans are a prime exam- Ulfur Arnason ple of a discord between morphological and molecular evolution and demonstrate the potential error in rely- ing on morphological distinction in the fossil record to Department of Genetics, Division of Evolutionary Molecular date species divergences. Relative to their molecular Systematics, University of Lund, Solvegatan 29, S-223, 62 Lund, Sweden distinction, the osteomorphological difference between the Sumatran and the Bornean orangutans is very limited. The correct timing of their divergence The rapidly increasing volume of molecular data in will therefore remain unrecognized in the palaeonto- recent years has made it possible to examine on a wider logical record. basis the congruity (or the lack thereof) between mor- phological and molecular findings. The Hominidae traditionally includes Homo and four species of great apes: common chimpanzee, pygmy chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan. Two subspecies of orangutan, PHYLOGENY OF THE TRIBE AESALINI Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, are commonly (COLEOPTERA, LUCANIDAE) acknowledged. The Sumatran and the Bornean oran- gutan are morphologically similar and produce fertile Kunio Araya1, M. Kon2, L. Bartolozzi3, H. G. offspring in spite of the fact that the difference between 4 5 the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) molecules Bomans and P. Reyes-Castillo of the two orangutans is similar or even greater than that between several distinct but closely related mam- 1Kyoto University, Japan, 2Shiga Pref. University, Japan, 3 4 5 malian species. Thus, the difference between the two University Firenze, Italy, Paris, France, Inst. Ecol., Mexico orangutans is much greater than that among the har- bour, grey and ringed seals, as well as that between the We made a preliminary study of the phylogeny of common and the pigmy chimpanzees. The difference is the lucanid tribe Aesalini (including the genera similar to that between the horse and the donkey, and Aesalus, Echinoaesalus and Lucanobium) on the basis of the fin and blue whales, respectively. The mitochon- adult and larval morphologies. The resultant phylog- drial nucleotide difference between the two eny shows that the Aesalini is composed of two major orangutans is about 75% of that between Homo and lineages: northern and southern Aesalini lineages. The chimpanzee, whereas their amino acid difference is northern Aesalini lineage is composed of two major 0748-3007/97/010161+26/$25.00/0/cl970034 Copyright © 1997 by The Willi Hennig Society All rights of reproduction in any form reserved 161 162 Abstracts lines: a Palearctic Aesalus line (containing A. scarabae- homoplasy does not overwhelm the phylogenetically oides, A. ulanoskii and A. asiaticus) and a Chinese Aesalus informative sites when the entire genome is analysed line (containing A. imanishii and A. sichuaenensis). The simultaneously. The resulting hypotheses may serve as southern Aesalini lineage contains two major lines: a the phylogenetic context for the further study of Himalayan Aesalus and a tropical Aesalini line. The genetic, morphological, and behavioral characteristics former line consists of the A. himalayicus complex and of birds. the latter consists of two major groups: a bristly tropi- cal Aesalini group (containing Neotropical Aesalus members and the south-east Asian Echinoaesalus matsuii complex) and a clumpy Aesalini group (con- taining Neotropical Lucanobium squamosum and the MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETIC south-east Asian E. timidus-hidakai subgroup). Their RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN PELARGONIUM geographical distribution is also discussed. SECTION PERISTERA (GERANIACEAE): EVIDENCE FOR LONG-RANGE DISPERSAL PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF TOTAL Freek T. Bakker1, A. Culham1 and M. Gibby2 MITOCHONDRIAL DNA IN BIRDS 1University of Reading, Botany Department, Whiteknights, P.O. Box 221, Reading RG6 6AS, U.K., and 2The Natural History Museum, Jennifer C. Ast, D. Dimcheff, M. D. Sorenson London, U.K. and D. Mindell Most Pelargonium sections are confined to South Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan Africa, where section Peristera is distributed in South 48109-1079, U.S.A. Africa, Madagascar, Australia (including Tasmania and New Zealand) and Tristan da Cunha. Peristera accommodates 25–30 predominantly weedy, annual We have attempted to resolve some of the higher herbs which are characterized by small flowers and order relationships of several groups of birds; specifi- fruits. Monophyly of Peristera as well as (close) rela- cally, the relationships of Galliformes (grouse, quail, tionships with the Australian species have long been turkeys, etc.) and Anseriformes (ducks, geese, swans) questioned but never tested. Phylogenetic analysis of to each other and to other avian orders. It is believed rDNA ITS and trn L (UAA)–trn F (GAA) chloroplast that Galliformes and Anseriformes, which each have DNA spacer sequences from species of Pelargonium primitive morphological characteristics, may be sister taxa forming a clade basal to the rest of neognath birds, section Peristera, together with putative outgroups, although morphological evidence alone has not been suggests paraphyly for the section and a close relation- successful in resolving relationships among these large ship between the highly disjunct South African and groups. To address these relatively neglected areas of Australian Peristera. Representatives of Pelargonium avian systematics, we sequenced whole mtDNA for sect. Reniformia, Polyactium and Isopetalum (the St. many avian groups and several other reptilian taxa to Helena endemic P. cotyledonis) appear to be nested serve as outgroups. Most molecular phylogenetic stud- within the Peristera clade. The close relationship ies to date have focused on single genes such as between the South African and Australian Peristera is cytochrome b (e.g. Murray et al., 1994), often with interpreted as being not consistent with mid-Creta- inconclusive results due to homoplasy in the small ceous vicariance, but caused by long-range dispersal to data sets. However, preliminary results suggest that Australia, probably as recently as the late Pliocene. Copyright © 1997 by The Willi Hennig Society All rights of reproduction in any form reserved Abstracts 163 SIMPLIFIED ALIGNMENT OF VARIABLE When exact and heuristic algorithms of parsimony PROTEIN-CODING DNA SEQUENCES programs such as Hennig86 and PAUP are used, root- ing with multiple outgroup terminals yields ambiguous results concerning the basal outgroup Nigel P. Barker1, H. P. Linder1 and E. H. nodes and associated character states. This is the case if Harley2 the ingroup appears either monophyletic or non-monophyletic. The order of the outgroup termi- nals listed in the data matrix is responsible for these 1Bolus Herbarium, Department of Botany, University of Cape Town, ambiguities. As a consequence, successive analyses Private Bag, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa, and 2Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, using each outgroup as the prime outgroup should be Rondebosch 7700, South Africa carried out to obtain all equally parsimonious rooted trees. Although the commonest implicit practice is the choice of one outgroup for selecting and orientating The use of suitably variable DNA sequences is a pre- the tree, we propose that the strict consensus tree requisite for molecular systematic studies. The should be used as the only tree resulting from the over- alignment of these sequences must be carried out in a all study, even if, as a consensus, this tree is not the manner that satisfies criteria of homology. However, most parsimonious. extreme levels of sequence variation (caused by large sample sizes or sampling across the extremes of diver- gence ranges or rapidly diverging or evolving sequences) can make the alignment process a difficult TAXONOMIC STUDIES IN ENTOMOLOGY one. While the alignment of variable protein-coding USING CONVENTIONAL MUSEUM DNA sequences can be simplified by converting them SPECIMENS: WHICH SPECIES CONCEPT into amino acid sequences, this is not possible for TO USE? non-coding regions or RNA genes. Examples taken from a range of molecular systematic studies are used to highlight alignment problems in a range of sequence Paul S. Bayliss and D. J. Brothers types. In particular, attention is focused on a set of intriguing "'special case” sequences: sequences com- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Natal posed of repeat units. A grass-specific insert in the (Pietermaritzburg), Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209 South Africa plastid rpoC2 gene is an example of this category of sequence. Using a data set of over 60 rpoC2 insert Most systematists, particularly entomologists, form sequences, the effects of various alignment methods large data sets using museum specimens, from which are demonstrated. they derive the characters used to distinguish between and determine the limits of species. The data sets are usually comprised solely of morphological (quantita- tive and qualitative) characters. Although the aim, ROOTING