Correlated evolution and Bayesian divergence time estimates of the Cimicoidea (Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha) reveal the evolutionary history

Abstract

The diverse habitat types and discrete morphological characters of cimicoid species provide a unique opportunity to study correlated evolution. Phylogenetic relationships within Cimicoidea were determined using Bayesian analyses of molecular data, allowing the generation of testable hypotheses of correlated evolution. An investigation of the correlation between habitat selection and morphological characters revealed that a dead plant habitat was correlated with the filiform antennal type. Furthermore, molecular dating analysis was used to examine divergence times within the Cimicoidea. Transitions to live plants from dead plants for most cimicoid clades started right after the mid-Cretaceous, coinciding with the radiation of the angiosperms. Using contingency analyses, we determined that evolutionary changes in morphological characters were dependent on habitat selection. Based on these results, we propose evolutionary historical hypotheses for the Cimicoidea. © 2011 The Authors. Systematic Entomology © 2011 The Royal Entomological Society.