Phylogenomic data resolve the higher-level phylogeny of Curculionoidea (weevils) and yield new insights into the evolution of weevil megadiversity

Weevils (the beetle superfamily Curculionoidea) exhibit a remarkable diversity of body sizes, shapes and structures, reflecting an equally remarkable range of habits. The phylogeny of weevils has received much recent attention. Despite this, many aspects of weevil phylogeny and evolution, particularly the phylogeny of the unusually diverse weevil family Curculionidae (~ 51,000 described species), remain controversial and relatively unknown. We constructed the higher-level phylogeny of weevils using DNA sequence data from hundreds of orthologous nuclear genes sampled from across Curculionoidea and near relatives using anchored hybrid enrichment (aka anchored phylogenomics). The resulting phylogenetic trees have strong nodal support which serves as a robust foundation for testing of long-standing hypotheses concerning weevil relationships and evolution, and provide a framework for further/deeper sampling of the uniquely diverse beetle family Curculionidae.