Phylogenetic distribution of extant richness suggests metamorphosis is a key innovation driving diversification in insects.

ABSTRACT: Insects and their six-legged relatives (Hexapoda) comprise more than half of all described species and dominate terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Understanding the macroevolutionary processes generating this richness requires a historical perspective, but the fossil record of hexapods is patchy and incomplete. Dated molecular phylogenies provide an alternative perspective on divergence times and have been combined with birth-death models to infer patterns of diversification across a range of taxonomic groups. Here we generate a dated phylogeny of hexapod families, based on previously published sequence data and literature derived constraints, in order to identify the broad pattern of macroevolutionary changes responsible for the composition of the extant hexapod fauna. The most promin

SUBMITTER: Rainford JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4183542 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature