The monophyly of Plantae including glaucophytes, red algae, and green plants (green algae plus land plants) has been recovered in recent phylogenetic analyses of large multi-gene data sets (e.g., those including >30,000 amino acid [aa] positions). On the other hand, Plantae monophyly has not been stably reconstructed in inferences from multi-gene data sets with fewer than 10,000 aa positions. A...

A phylogenetic study was conducted to hypothesize relationships of most of the genera of the Oniticellini and Onthophagini for the first time using morphological characters from a diverse array of external and internal sclerites. The monophyly and sister relationship of both tribes was found using Bayesian and parsimony analyses with heavily to moderately weighted data. An alternative hypothesi...

Acrostilicus Hubbard, 1896 and Pachystilicus Casey, 1905 are North American genera known from only one two species, respectively, have never been a subject of modern revision. In fact, was not even properly described as its author provided sketchy diagnosis the genus species. Here, we provide redescription species illustrate habitus male genital features. For first time, also redescribe their d...

The complete nucleotide sequence (14,472 bp) of the mitochondrial genome of the nudibranch Roboastra europaea (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) was determined. This highly compact mitochondrial genome is nearly identical in gene organization to that found in opisthobranchs and pulmonates (Euthyneura) but not to that in prosobranchs (a paraphyletic group including the most basal lineages of gastropo...

Ants are one of the most ecologically and numerically dominant families of organisms in almost every terrestrial habitat throughout the world, though they include only about 1% of all described insect species. The development of eusociality is thought to have been a driving force in the striking diversification and dominance of this group, yet we know little about the evolution of the major lin...

The chlorophyll c-containing algae comprise four major lineages: dinoflagellates, haptophytes, heterokonts, and cryptophytes. These four lineages have sometimes been grouped together based on their pigmentation, but cytological and rRNA data had suggested that they were not a monophyletic lineage. Some molecular data support monophyly of the plastids, while other plastid and host data suggest d...

Iguanian lizards form a diverse clade whose members have been the focus of many comparative studies of ecology, behavior, and evolution. Despite the importance of phylogeny to such studies, interrelationships among many iguanian clades remain uncertain. Within the Old World clade Acrodonta, Agamidae is sometimes found to be paraphyletic with respect to Chamaeleonidae, and recent molecular studi...

Robinsonia is a genus of eight species and is endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands. Previous studies based on ITS phylogenies place Robinsonia deeply nested within Senecio, however its monophyly remains uncertain. In this paper, we use phylogenies reconstructed from plastid, ITS-ETS, and combined data to test its monophyly. Plastid phylogenies support Robinsonia as monophyletic, whereas ITS-ET...