Is Coloburiscidae (Ephemeroptera) Monophyletic? A Comparison of Datasets

Coloburiscidae consists of three living genera with a Gondwanan distribution-Coloburiscoides from Australia, Coloburiscus from New Zealand, and Murphyella from Chile. Molecular-based phylogenetic analyses of Ephemeroptera (mayflies) have been somewhat successful in resolving many higher-level relationships in the order. Most of these analyses, however, have been ambiguous with respect to the family Coloburiscidae. This study presents the first phylogenetic analysis specific to Coloburiscidae using data generated from 448 phylogenomic sequences and data generated from the Sanger sequencing of five genes: 12S, 16S, 18S, 28S, and H3. Bayesian and likelihood analyses were conducted on each dataset and, ultimately, on a combined dataset of the two. Coloburiscidae was shown to be supported as monophyletic in each instance where the phylogenomic data were included. Coloburiscoides was shown as sister to Murphyella + Coloburiscus.

Automated summary

Coloburiscidae consists of three living genera from Australia, New Zealand, and Chile, and this study presents the first phylogenetic analysis using extensive genomic data to resolve the evolutionary relationships within this family, revealing its monophyly.