The first molecular phylogeny of the weevil subfamily Lixinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) casts doubts on the monophyly of its tribes.

This paper targets the nearly cosmopolitan weevil subfamily Lixinae. A phylogenetic analysis of one mitochondrial and two nuclear DNA fragments obtained from 87 Lixinae and 49 outgroup terminals strongly supports the monophyly of the subfamily. The molytine tribe Mecysolobini is the likeliest sister group of Lixinae; adults of both taxa share the likely synapomorphic condition of the greatly shortened labial palpi. Phylogenetic relationships within the subfamily are poorly resolved. None of three Lixinae tribes is recovered as monophyletic. The subfamilys oldest dichotomy is formed by a clade of two genera Rhabdorrhynchus plus Pachycerus sister to the rest of the subfamily. The genera Chromonotus, Larinus, Lixus, and Stephanocleonus are recovered as non-monophyletic. The genera Asproparthenis, Chromonotus, and Maximus form a strongly supported clade. The genus Eumecops is the likeliest sister to the clade formed by the genera Stephanocleonus plus Coniocleonus. The cleonine genus Scaphomorphus is a sister to a subset of externally most similar species of the genus Lixus; the same clade likely includes the genus Lixoglyptus not represented in the analysis. As an aside we provide a short summary of active flight in adult Cleonini.

Flightless Notaris (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Brachycerinae: Erirhinini) in Southwest China: monophyly, mtDNA phylogeography and evolution of habitat associations.

This paper reports the recent discovery of flightless populations of weevils of the genus Notaris in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China. Specimens were found in the middle or high altitude mountains (2440-4195 m), by either sifting leaf litter in the deciduous forest and among alpine Rhododendron shrubs, or by turning rocks in the alpine zone. These finds extend southwards the Asian range of this Holarctic genus and report its highest altitudinal records. DNA barcodes of 127 specimens were phylogenetically analysed, of them 42 are those of newly discovered Notaris from Southwest China. The genera Notaris and Tournotaris consistently formed a clade, with Tournotaris nested inside Notaris in Maximum Parsimony (MP) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) analysis. The newly discovered flightless Notaris from Southwest China were either monophyletic (MP) or paraphyletic with respect to volant Holarctic N. aethiops (ML); the latter placement being likely an artefact. A strict linear molecular clock approach suggests a pre-Pliocene separation of Notaris populations in Southwest China. Habitat associations of these high-altitude flightless Notaris contrast sharply with that of the predominantly volant lowland riparian Notaris and other Erirhinini. We hypothesis that evolution of habitat selection in Notaris went from lowland riparian, to high altitude (via uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions of Central Asia), and then to forest leaf litter (via subsequent erosions of isolated mountains such as Emei Shan in Sichuan losing the alpine zone and forcing Notaris into the forest floor). Taxonomic uncertainty of Asian Notaris is addressed and remains unresolved due to uninformative morphology and conflicting DNA signal. Identities of two obscure and likely closely related species, Notaroides brevirostris and Notaris kozlovi from nearby SE Qinghai and NW Sichuan, respectively, are discussed and illustrated. Pending further research, all reported flightless Notaris from Yunnan and Sichuan are hypothesised to form a clade, for which the available name N. kozlovi is used. Habitus and genitalia of Notaris specimens from the newly detected populations are illustrated.