Data from: Phylogenomics, biogeography and diversification of obligate mealybug-tending ants in the genus Acropyga

Acropyga ants are a widespread clade of small subterranean formicines that
live in obligate symbiotic associations with root mealybugs. We generated
a data set of 944 loci of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) to reconstruct
the phylogeny of 41 representatives of 23 Acropyga species using both
concatenation and species-tree approaches. We investigated the
biogeographic history of the genus through divergence dating analyses and
ancestral range reconstructions. We also explored the evolution of the
Acropyga-mealybug mutualism using ancestral state reconstruction methods.
We recovered a highly supported species phylogeny for Acropyga with both
concatenation and species-tree analyses. The age for crown-group Acropyga
is estimated to be around 30 Ma. The geographic origin of the genus
remains uncertain, although phylogenetic affinities within the subfamily
Formicinae point to a Paleotropical ancestor. Two main Acropyga lineages
are recovered with mutually exclusive distributions in the Old World and
New World. Within the Old World clade, a Palearctic and African lineage is
suggested as sister to the remaining species. Ancestral state
reconstructions indicate that Old World species have diversified mainly in
close association with xenococcines from the genus Eumyrmococcus, although
present-day associations also involve other mealybug genera. In contrast,
New World Acropyga predominantly evolved with Neochavesia until a recent
(10-15 Ma) switch to rhizoecid mealybug partners (genus Rhizoecus). The
striking mandibular variation in Acropyga evolved most likely from a
5-toothed ancestor. Our results provide an initial evolutionary framework
for extended investigations of potential co-evolutionary interactions
between these ants and their mealybug partners.