The Anoplognathini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) is a monophyletic tribe of scarab beetles that is distributed in the Neotropical and Australian realms. The tribe contains 25 genera and approximately 180 species. I revised and conducted phylogenetic analyses of all of the Neotropical taxa (five genera, 73 species). This modern taxonomic foundation is used to address Anoplognathini evolution and biogeography. Anoplognathini are a group of particular interest because it has a disjunct southern hemispheric distribution and its association with plant groups (such as Nothofagus trees) with similar distributional patterns. Based on phylogenetic analyses, the Neotropical and Australian Anoplognathini are not two separately evolving, independent lineages. Instead, the Anoplognathini is comprised of five or six lineages that occur in one or both of these regions. The pattern is likely a product of vicariance during the breakup of Gondwana during the late Cretaceous. I will also discuss indirect evidence supporting the vicariance hypothesis for the current distribution of Anoplognathini including host plant evidence and the fossil record. The distributional pattern of other Scarabaeidae groups with disjunct southern hemispheric distributions also will be discussed.
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA