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ViewAttendees 4

10-Minute Paper

Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

SysEB: Biogeography

Systematics and biogeography of Appalachian blind soil carabids (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Anillini)

Wednesday, November 8, 2023
9:24 AM – 9:36 AM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Chesapeake J-K
In-Person

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Curt Harden

    PhD Candidate
    Clemson University
    Central, South Carolina

Anilline carabids are small, eyeless inhabitants of leaf litter, soil, and caves, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The Appalachian region in the eastern United States is a hotspot of diversity for the tribe, with over 100 species in two genera, most of which are undescribed. The morphology of anillines is strongly conserved, with the exception of secondary sexual characters of males and modifications associated with deep soil existence. Neither set of characters is likely to be reliable for inferring relationships, and the traditionally used characters of habitat usage and dorsal microsculpture are more variable within species than was originally assumed. Several informal species groups have been proposed, but no systematic framework for the regional diversity has been presented. To generate such a hypothesis, and to test the previously proposed groups, the first molecular phylogeny was inferred using DNA sequences from six genes, representing over 80 species from all of the species groups present in the region. This well supported tree indicates a complex biogeographic history, and challenges some common assumptions of these small blind beetles.