Ultra-Conserved Element phylogenomics of new world Ponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) illuminates the origin and phylogeographic history of the endemic exotic ant Ponera exotica

The genus Ponera is a lineage of leaf litter ants, with a center of diversity in the Indo-Australian region. Two species occur in the New World; however, uncertainty exists with regard to their biogeographic origins and species limits, especially for isolated cloud forest populations in Middle America. We investigate the geographic distribution, phylogeny, and phylogeography of these two species to better characterize the American ant fauna and to gain insight into the biogeography of taxa that span hemispheres. Sequencing of Ultra-Conserved Element (UCE) loci was used to infer phylogenetic relationships, estimate divergence dates, and test species boundaries. The widespread native species P. exotica and P. pennsylvanica are each more closely related to Old World relatives than they are to each other, implying two independent colonizations of the New World. Ponera pennsylvanica is most closely related to the European species P. coarctata, while P. exotica is related to a clade of Indo-A...