Ji Jie-Hong, Wu Hui-Yuan, Gao Yi-Xin, Shen Chen-Yang, Yang Zi-Wen, Storey Kenneth B, Yu Dan-Na, Zhang Jia-Yong
College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada.
Insects. 2025 May 2;16(5):486. doi: 10.3390/insects16050486.
As one of the four primary evolutionary groups within myriapods, centipedes (Chilopoda) comprise approximately 3150 valid species. Recent molecular studies have begun to elucidate the phylogeny and time to divergence in Chilopoda; yet, identifying scutigeromorphs at the species level remains a notoriously challenging task. In this study, we obtained seven new complete mitogenomes of (Wood, 1862) to investigate the phylogeny and divergence times of Chilopoda. Both maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses recovered the relationship of (Scutigeromorpha + (Scolopendromorpha + (Lithobiomorpha + Geophilomorpha))). For Scutigeromorpha, seven newly sequenced mitogenomes of were divided into four distinct clades. Divergence time estimates suggest that the basal split of Chilopoda occurred during the Middle Ordovician period, with the origins of Scolopendromorpha, Lithobiomorpha, and Geophilomorpha dating to the Devonian period. Factors such as warm climates, coevolution between predator and prey, and the rifting of the Hainan Island may have driven the diversification of Scutigeromorpha. Based on genetic distance, the delimitation of molecular species, phylogenetic relationships, and divergence time analyses, we identified three cryptic species that existed within . This exceptionally high degree of hidden diversity can be ascribed to the morphological stasis that has occurred since the Paleozoic era and taxonomic impediment.
作为多足动物四大主要进化类群之一，蜈蚣（唇足纲）约有3150个有效物种。最近的分子研究已开始阐明唇足纲的系统发育和分化时间；然而，在物种水平上识别蚰蜒目仍然是一项极具挑战性的任务。在本研究中，我们获得了七种新的（伍德，1862年）完整线粒体基因组，以研究唇足纲的系统发育和分化时间。最大似然法（ML）和贝叶斯推断（BI）分析均恢复了（蚰蜒目+（蜈蚣目+（石蜈蚣目+地蜈蚣目）））的关系。对于蚰蜒目，七个新测序的线粒体基因组被分为四个不同的分支。分化时间估计表明，唇足纲的基部类群分化发生在中奥陶世时期，蜈蚣目、石蜈蚣目和地蜈蚣目的起源可追溯到泥盆纪时期。温暖的气候、捕食者与猎物之间的协同进化以及海南岛的裂谷作用等因素可能推动了蚰蜒目的多样化。基于遗传距离、分子物种界定、系统发育关系和分化时间分析，我们识别出了存在于 中的三个隐存物种。这种异常高程度的隐藏多样性可归因于自中生代以来发生的形态停滞和分类学障碍。
