Phylogeny, molecular dating and biogeography of Heteroponerinae ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Abstract

Ants are conspicuous organisms of major ecological importance in most terrestrial ecosystems, often attaining high levels of abundance and diversity. However, its richness, biogeographic patterns, and the phylogenetic relationships among the main lineages represent an important source of uncertainty in literature. Until recently it was also the case of heteroponerine ants. Heteroponerinae comprises three ant genera and presents a disjunct distribution in the Americas, Australia and southwestern Asia. A recent morphological study released secure bases for the recognition and delimitation of most species in the subfamily and represented the first step in trying to understand the internal phylogenetic relationships of Heteroponerinae. However, methodological limitations and the difficulty in recognizing phylogenetically informative morphological characters contributed to the perpetuation of a number of uncertainties regarding the phylogeny and biogeography of the group. The relative lack of resolution in the internal relations of some heteroponerine clades prevents the recognition of some lineages as evolutionarily independent. The presence of lineages in three biogeographic regions and, in particular, the close phylogenetic relations found between Neotropical and Australian groups reveal an interesting biogeographic scenario to be investigated. In this context, this study aims to present a hypothesis about the evolutionary and biogeographic processes involved in the diversification and current distribution of the Heteroponerinae members through a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis employing molecular data. (AU)