Phylogenomic inference and demographic model selection suggest peripatric separation of the cryptic steppe ant species Plagiolepis pyrenaica stat. rev.

ABSTRACT: The ant Plagiolepis taurica Santschi, 1920 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) is a typical species of the Eurasian steppes, a large grassland dominated biome that stretches continuously from Central Asia to Eastern Europe and is represented by disjunct outposts also in Central and Western Europe. The extent of this biome has been influenced by the Pleistocene climate, and steppes expanded recurrently during cold stages and contracted in warm stages. Consequently, stenotopic steppe species such as P. taurica repeatedly went through periods of demographic expansion and severe isolation. Here, we explore the impact of these dynamics on the genetic diversification within P. taurica. Delimitation of P. taurica from other Plagiolepis species has been unclear since its initial description, which raised qu

SUBMITTER: Kirschner P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10946478 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature