2nd Place: Reevaluating relationships within Australasian endemic dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Monday, November 14, 2022

11:18 AM – 11:30 AM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 306

Presenting Author(s)

NS

Natalie A. Saxton

Graduate Student
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Lakewood, Ohio

Co-Author(s)

Nicole L. Gunter

Curator
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, Ohio

The Australasian endemic clade is a group of dung beetle genera found in Australia and the South Pacific, currently classified as incertae sedis. Composed of 22 genera and ~250 species, this clade represents a morphologically diverse and ecologically unique fauna. Here, we reconstruct a phylogeny of this clade to test hypotheses related to morphology and generic relationships. Our results provide novel insight into the future classification of these genera, as well as suggest several evolutionarily significant relationships.