Molecular phylogeny and divergence time estimation of <i>Cosmodela</i> (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae) tiger beetle species from Southeast Asia

Abstract

C osmodela R ivalier, 1961, represents a genus of tiger beetles that currently contains 13 described species widely distributed across Southeast A sia. A phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial DNA fragments 16 S and COI and the nuclear marker wingless and a phylogeographic analysis using a COI fragment were carried out on two subspecies of C osmodela aurulenta ( C . a. juxtata and C . a. aurulenta ). The results support the hypothesis that these two subspecies are significantly different to be considered as separate species that diverged during the P leistocene. TAXONDNA analysis was used to investigate the capability of the COI region as a marker for discriminating both entities and to quantify intra‐ and intertaxa genetic variation. The minimum distance between C . aurulenta and C . juxtata was 2.7837%, and no overlap of intra‐ and intertaxa genetic divergence was observed. Both taxa, here considered as valid species, occur in sympatry in the M alay P eninsula, with C . aurulenta most probably originating from the area and C . juxtata a secondary colonizer that expanded southwards from the A sian mainland. Our data infer a continental origin of the Indonesian samples of C . aurulenta, and they most likely dispersed across the land bridges that emerged during glacial maxima to form S undaland.