Table 4. Posterior means and 95 in A revised taxonomy and phylogeny of opalinids (Stramenopiles: Opalinata) inferred from the analysis of complete nuclear ribosomal DNA genes

Table 4. Posterior means and 95% credibility intervals (CIs) of divergence times (DTs) of Opalinata lineages (in million years) inferred in the TimeTree analysis. Three groups of calibration time points were used to calibrate the molecular clock. Group A (‘sequence evolution’): calibration points with uniform distribution were assigned for the origin of Stramenopiles (1469.6–812.4 Mya) and Ciliophora (1344.0–627.3 Mya) and to the split of Apicomplexa and Dinoflagellata (1098.8–501.9 Mya). Group B (‘host class constraints’): the maximum bounds of the origin of Amphibia (355.7 Mya) and Sauropsida (322.4 Mya) were assigned to the nodes where Karotomorpha (parasite of amphibians) and Proteromonas (parasite of lizards) branched off* respectively. Group C (‘anuran family constraints’): a maximum bound was assigned to the nodes where Protoopalina * Zelleriella * and Opalina branched off* based on the estimated maximum time of emergence of the most ancient anuran family in which species of each genus have been cited (respectively: Ascaphidae * 204 Mya; Microhylidae * 116.3 Mya; Bombinatoridae and Alytidae * 196 Mya). Four scenarios were analysed by combining the groups of calibration time points.
Scenario 1 (A)Scenario 2 (A + B)Scenario 3 (A + C)Scenario 4 (A + B + C)DT (95% CI)DT (95% CI)DT (95% CI)DT (95% CI)Opalinata586.7 (304.6–1130.1)515.7 (267.0–996.0)586.7 (304.6–1129.8)515.7 (267.0–996.1)Karotomorpha351.7 (165.2–748.8)309.2 (178.8–355.7)351.7 (165.6–746.9)309.2 (178.8–355.7)Opalinida250.4 (110.7–566.5)220.1 (119.3–286.8)250.4 (112.2–558.6)220.1 (119.3–286.8)Protoopalina119.4 (48.6–293.5)105.0 (56.1–196.6)119.4 (55.1–204.0)105.0 (56.0–196.9)Zelleriella – Opalina split49.7 (17.4–142.3)43.7 (20.1–95.0)49.7 (19.8–124.7)43.7 (20.4–93.5)