Zehneria neorensis: Additional phylogenies and sequence information

Basic data and supplement for Ranjan et al. 2022, Biogeography of Zehneria
(Cucurbitaceae) and a New Species from India, Systematic Botany. Zehneria
is one of the most diverse genera in Cucurbitaceae with 75 accepted
species mainly in Southeast Asia and tropical Africa. We describe Zehneria
neorensis, a new species from Neora Valley in the mountains of West
Bengal, India, which has 7–10 cm long twisted fruiting pedicels, the
longest pedicels reported in the genus so far. Based on morphological
data, we also suggest the transfer of Melothria morobensis to the genus
Zehneria. With a molecular phylogenetic and global biogeographic analysis
based on 3856 nucleotides of plastid and nuclear ribosomal DNA, we
demonstrate that the genus Zehneria most likely originated on the African
continent 24 (30-19) million years ago and spread from there at least five
times to Madagascar and three times to Asia. Zehneria neorensis represents
an independent colonization event from Africa to India about 11 (15–7)
million years ago. Three lineages reached New Guinea/Australia and finally
moved into Polynesia. We infer a rate of at least 20 long-distance
dispersal (LDD) events per 10 million years in the genus. This high LDD
frequency is most likely a result of the small berry fruits and small
flattened seeds of Zehneria, which seem perfectly adapted to long-distance
bird dispersal. Field observations are needed to investigate a potential
effect of the newly discovered extended and coiling pedicels in Zehneria
neorensis on seed dispersal efficiency. The new species adds to a growing
list of rather old Cucurbitaceae lineages in the Himalayan foothills,
supporting the hypothesis of long climatic stability in the region.