Amazonian Discovery Sheds Light on the Evolution of Caenocentron Schmid, 1982 (Trichoptera: Xiphocentronidae): Phylogenetic Placement and Description of a New Species
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Caenocentron was previously hypothesized to have originated in Mesoamerica from Xiphocentronidae ancestors that dispersed from Asia to the Americas during Eocene hyperthermal events. Under this scenario, the genus underwent early diversification in Mesoamerica and reached South America only during the late Miocene, following the uplift and connection of Central America. However, the discovery of Caenocentron roosevelt sp. nov. in savanna areas of the Brazilian Amazon significantly revises this understanding. A morphology-based parsimony analysis of Caenocentron and related xiphocentronids (26 taxa, 46 characters) recovered C. roosevelt sp. nov. as the sister species to all other members of the genus. This placement implies that Caenocentron was in South America far earlier than previously inferred, likely by the late Oligocene. Caenocentron roosevelt sp. nov. is distinguished by the following combination of characters: the absence of a setose ventral projection on the coxopodite (present in all other congeners), the presence of apical lobes on tergum IX (reduced in other species), paired digitate lobes beneath the posterior margin of tergum IX (otherwise found only in one Nearctic species), and a distinct line of robust setae along the apical projection of the coxopodite (absent in other species). Additionally, a key to the males of all 10 currently recognized species of Caenocentron is provided.
Source: Insects
Authors: Gleison R. Desidério, Albane Vilarino, Laissa da Silva dos Santos, Pitágoras C. Bispo, Neusa Hamada
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
Funders: Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Universitas Lampung, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade
Awards: G1855693979, G207778765, G234727902, G2604241884, G29316538, G3790608479, BoCP design: US-China-São Paulo: functional biodiversity in streams on a changing planet in tropical, subtropical, and temperate climates, G4472919109, G5454033135, G6312528146, G6366026822, G6660546162, G6920151223, G734465393, G8172648099, G8440754798
OpenAlex ID: W4416600900