Mimopidae is the sister group to all other scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha): a phylotranscriptomic approach

Abstract

Mimopidae is a monotypic family of scolopendromorph centipedes known only by its holotype until the recent rediscovery of Mimops orientalis from Qinling Mountain, China. Here we generated novel transcriptomic data for M. orientalis and analyzed them in conjunction with other scolopendromorph and centipede transcriptomes. We used a diversity of approaches, including analyzing three matrices with different occupancy thresholds and a diversity of phylogenetic methods, including concatenation and coalescent-based approaches. All our analyses supported a phylogenetic position of Mimopidae as sister group to all other scolopendromorphs with maximal support. This position contrasts with previous Sanger data for Mimopidae but provide stability to the scolopendromorph phylogeny, showing that the loss of eyes occurred in the common ancestor of the clade leading to Cryptopidae, Plutoniumidae and Scolopocryptopidae. Our analysis thus resolves a longstanding question in centipede evolution while providing a stable relationship for the least studied family of centipedes to date.