Puppets in amber: Phylogenetics and divergence time estimation within the Aderidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea)

The Aderidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea), commonly known as the puppet beetles, contains approximately 1000 species parsed into forty genera that are distributed across all major biogeographic areas of the world.  They are intriguing from a natural history perspective as many species exhibit varying degrees of sexual dimorphism in the form of elaborate male antennae or the presence of large setal patches on the hind legs.  The puppet beetles also appear to be well represented in the fossil record with numerous amber inclusions from Dominican, Baltic, Mexican, Burmese, and even Lebanese deposits.  A molecular phylogeny for the Aderidae is reconstructed based upon nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data with broad-scale regional taxonomic sampling.  Based upon amber fossils, divergence time estimations are performed and examined in the context of secondary sexual dimorphism within the family.