The phylogeny structured investigation of mantodean origins and evolution

A comprehensive taxonomic sampling of Mantodea (praying mantises), covering virtually all higher-level groups, was assembled to reconstruct the phylogeny of the order. Sequence data were generated from five mitochondrial and four nuclear loci for 329 mantis exemplars along with seven cockroach and eight termite species. Only 7 of 14 families, 14 of 33 subfamilies, and 7 of 14 tribes were recovered as monophyletic indicating that phylogeny is largely incongruent with classification. Mapping biogeographic regions on the phylogeny demonstrated that our results adhere closer to geographic distributions than to classification. Specific patterns in distribution suggest that major morphological convergences have confounded taxonomists ability to reconstruct natural groups. Nearly all currently recognized groups found in multiple regions were recovered as paraphyletic. This resulted in a common pattern across the phylogeny wherein paraphyletic assemblages of taxa were recovered within strongly supported clades representing a single geographic region. It was found that major mantis lineages diverged prior to and during the isolation of geographic regions and subsequent ecomorphic specializations within these regions may have led to convergences in morphology. Divergence time estimation places the origin of Mantodea at the beginning of the Jurassic with most modern mantises originating on Gondwana in the Cretaceous. The continental split between South America and Africa (apx. 110 mya) corresponds with a major divergence between South American and other Gondwanan mantises. The results also suggest that Antarctica played a major role as a conduit for dispersal by facilitating repeated colonizations of South America and Australia. In addition, the movement of India in relation to Antarctica, Africa, and Madagascar spurred numerous divergences and carried an assemblage of lineages to the rest of Asia.