Bc. Emerson et al., MtDNA phylogeography and recent intra-island diversification among Canary Island Calathus beetles, MOL PHYL EV, 13(1), 1999, pp. 149-158
The genus Calathus Bonelli comprises 24 species on the Canary Islands. Sequ
ences of 927 and 687 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and II ge
nes, respectively, as well as the intervening tRNA leu gene in 21 of the 24
species, have identified three genetically divergent and unequivocally mon
ophyletic groupings. A phylogeographic analysis is presented for the major
monophyletic group comprising all the species of Gran Canaria, La Gomera, a
nd El Hierro, and two Tenerifean species. A distance-based phylogenetic ana
lysis and maximum parsimony analysis have clearly shown that this clade is
composed of four distinct lineages. DNA sequence data suggest a recent orig
in for this clade and that lineages have not evolved at the same rate. Comp
ared with diversification patterns observed in other Coleoptera on the Cana
ry Islands, diversification has been recent relative to the time of coloniz
ation within the islands of Gran Canaria and La Gomera. Calathus diversific
ation on La Gomera has been greater than on Gran Canaria. The influences of
geological and ecological history are discussed in relation to Calathus di
versification. (C) 1999 Academic Press.