Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2025

Laboratory Protocol for Genetic Gut Content Analyses of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Using Group-specific rDNA Primers
Published on: October 5, 2017
Phylogenomics of endemic Australian Ulopinae (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Cicadellidae)
Olivia Evangelista1, Nikolai Tatarnic2, Keith Bayless3
1Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
Abstract:
Ulopinae is a distinctive subfamily of leafhoppers that is widely distributed across the Afrotropical, Palearctic, Indomalayan and Australasian regions. The ulopine fauna of Australia is entirely endemic and includes two tribes of striking appearance, the Ulopini and Cephalelini. Knowledge of these groups is fragmentary and in many instances, no information is available beyond original descriptions. We assess the monophyly, phylogenetic placement and species-level diversity of the Ulopini genus Austrolopa . Phylogenetic analyses based on sequence data from target nuclear loci (18S , 28S , H2A and H3 ) and mitochondrial genomes (15 genes) for 23 membracoid taxa yielded congruent topologies. Our results provide strong evidence for the monophyly of Ulopinae and a clade consisting of Ulopini + Cephalelini. However, a non-monophyletic Cephalelini arises from within a polyphyletic Ulopini. Austrolopa was strongly recovered as monophyletic in all analyses, a result also supported by morphological features. The genus currently includes six species, three of which are described based on morphological and molecular data: Austrolopa botanica , sp. nov. , Austrolopa rotunda , sp. nov. and Austrolopa sublima , sp. nov. A lectotype designation is provided for Austrolopa kingensis Evans, 1937, sp. reval. Our findings illustrate that the Australian Ulopinae is far more diverse than currently circumscribed and several species of Austrolopa are yet to be recognised. ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1480285B-8F61-4659-A929-2B1EF3168868.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Phylogeny
Phylogenetic Trees
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?
In contrast, regions which code...
Convergent Evolution
Pollination and Flower Structure

