Diversity and evolution of South Pacific Eumolpinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and the role of New Caledonia in their diversification

Platania, Leonardo

Diversity and evolution of South Pacific Eumolpinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and the role of New Caledonia in their diversification

Document Type

Doctoral thesis
Published Version

Author

Platania, Leonardo

Director

Gómez-Zurita, Jesús

Publication Date

2023-10-11

Pages

396 p.

Citation

Platania, L. Diversity and evolution of South Pacific Eumolpinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and the role of New Caledonia in their diversification. Universitat Pompeu Fabra; 2023. handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10803/689177

This citation was generated automatically.

Doctoral program

Programa de Doctorat en Biomedicina

Abstract

The South Pacific is an intriguing region for studying evolutionary biology, presenting an exceptional diversity and complex geological and environmental characteristics. New Caledonia, in particular, hosts a rich and unique biodiversity with outstanding levels of endemism at different scales. The hyper-diverse Eumolpinae leaf-beetles are particularly rich and highly endemic in the region and are poorly known under many aspects. Integrating taxonomy, macroevolution, and biogeography, this thesis improves our understanding on the diversity and evolution of this group in South Pacific. Twenty new species of the genera Taophila and Tricholapita have been described from New Caledonia and the phylogenetic relationship among them has been assessed. This diversity is the result of allopatric speciation and a slow-down in diversification dynamics which may be associated with the current micro-endemic distribution pattern, influenced by geo-environmental changes. Finally, in a wider scale, New Caledonia can be considered a pump and hub of biodiversity for the Eumolpinae that colonised the South Pacific with repeated dispersal events during the Neogene.
El Pacífico Sur es una área importante para el estudio de la evolución, por sus características y por la riqueza de su diversidad. Nueva Caledonia, en particular, alberga una biodiversidad única y exceptionalmente endémica. Un enfoque filogenético al estudio de la diversidad de esta región es fundamental para entender su origen, su diversificación y su distribución. Los crisomélidos Eumolpinae, están presentes en la región con numerosas especies, pero son muy poco conocidos. A través del estudio taxonómico, macroevolutivo y biogeográfico del grupo, esta tesis logra incrementar nuestro conocimiento sobre su diversidad y evolución en el Pacífico Sur. Veinte nuevas especies de Taophila y Tricholapita han sido descritas para Nueva Caledonia. La especiación alopátrica junta con factores ambientales resultan el mecanismo principal en la formación de la distribución micro-endémica de estos dos géneros. Finalmente, Nueva Caledonia representa un centro de diversificación para los Eumolpinos que han colonizado repetidamente el resto del Pacifico Sur en el Neogene.