Data from: Peptidomics-based phylogeny and biogeography of Mantophasmatodea (Hexapoda)

The insect order Mantophasmatodea was described in 2002. Prior to that
time, several generations of entomologists had assumed that all major
insect taxa were known; thus, its description was a sensation for
zoologists. Since then, a surprising abundance and species diversity of
this taxon have been found, particularly in the winter rainfall region of
South Africa. To learn more about the evolutionary lineages, speciation,
and biogeography of Mantophasmatodea, we applied an unusual peptidomics
approach. We collected specimens of almost all known and novel taxa of
these insects, developed methods for immediate sample preparation in the
field, introduced peptide mass fingerprints for the unambiguous
identification of taxa, and subsequently analyzed the most extensive
dataset on peptide hormones ever compiled for insect taxa. To account for
intraspecific variation, we analyzed several individuals per putative
species. Increased taxon sampling was preferred over a further increase in
the number of characters to optimize the accuracy of phylogenetic
analyses. The large dataset made it possible to test the validity of using
neuropeptide sequences, which co-evolve with their respective receptors,
to analyze phylogenetic relationships among closely related taxa.
Altogether, the data from 71 populations of Mantophasmatodea were
sufficient to clearly separate the major clades of Mantophasmatodea,
including previously undescribed taxa such as Pachyphasma, Striatophasma,
and Austrophasmatidae gen. et sp. nov. ‘RV’. The data confirm the
monophyly of Austrophasmatidae and show a relatively recent and extensive
radiation in the winter rainfall region of South Africa but also suggest
that the species-level diversification of Namibian Mantophasma is less
marked than previously thought. We discuss the biogeographical and
ecological factors that may have resulted in different regional patterns
of endemism and species diversity in Mantophasmatodea. The unique
development of the neuroendocrine capa-neurons in the ventral nervous
system is described as synapomorphy of Mantophasmatodea + Grylloblattodea
and is a further argument for a close relationship between these insect
taxa.

昆虫纲螳螂竹节虫目（Mantophasmatodea）于2002年被正式描述。在此之前，数代昆虫学家均认为所有主要昆虫分类群已被发现，因此该目的描述在动物学界引起轰动。此后，该分类群展现出惊人的丰度与物种多样性，尤其在南非冬季降雨区。为深入了解螳螂竹节虫目的进化谱系、物种形成及生物地理学特征，我们采用了独特的肽组学（peptidomics）方法：收集了几乎所有已知及新发现的该类昆虫样本，建立了野外即时样本制备方法，引入肽质量指纹图谱（peptide mass fingerprints）实现分类群的精准鉴定，并随后分析了迄今为止昆虫分类群中规模最大的肽激素数据集。为考虑种内变异，我们对每个假定物种的多个个体进行了分析。在系统发育分析中，我们优先增加分类群采样而非进一步增加特征数量，以优化分析准确性。该大型数据集使我们能够验证神经肽序列（与其受体协同进化）用于分析近缘分类群系统发育关系的有效性。总计71个螳螂竹节虫目种群的数据足以清晰区分其主要分支，包括此前未描述的分类群如Pachyphasma、Striatophasma及Austrophasmatidae gen. et sp. nov. ‘RV’。数据证实了Austrophasmatidae科的单系性，并显示南非冬季降雨区存在近期且广泛的辐射演化，但纳米比亚地区Mantophasma属的物种分化程度较之前认为的更低。我们还探讨了可能导致螳螂竹节虫目不同区域特有性及物种多样性模式差异的生物地理与生态因素。腹神经系统中神经内分泌capa神经元的独特发育模式被描述为螳螂竹节虫目与蛩蠊目（Grylloblattodea）的共有衍征（synapomorphy），进一步支持这两个昆虫分类群间的近缘关系。