Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 24 July 1998:
Vol. 281. no. 5376, pp. 555 - 559
DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5376.555
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

"Inordinate Fondness" Explained: Why Are There So Many Beetles?

Brian D. Farrell

The phylogeny of the Phytophaga, the largest and oldest radiation of herbivorous beetles, was reconstructed from 115 complete DNA sequences for the 18S nuclear ribosomal subunit and from 212 morphological characters. The results of these analyses were used to interpret the role of angiosperms in beetle diversification. Jurassic fossils represent basal lineages that are still associated with conifers and cycads. Repeated origins of angiosperm-feeding beetle lineages are associated with enhanced rates of beetle diversification, indicating a series of adaptive radiations. Collectively, these radiations represent nearly half of the species in the order Coleoptera and a similar proportion of herbivorous insect species.

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. E-mail: bfarrell{at}oeb.harvard.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Estimating Trait-Dependent Speciation and Extinction Rates from Incompletely Resolved Phylogenies.
R. G. FitzJohn, W. P. Maddison, and S. P. Otto (2009)
Syst Biol 58, 595-611
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Plant and Insect Biodiversity Special Feature: Repeated climate-linked host shifts have promoted diversification in a temperate clade of leaf-mining flies.
I. S. Winkler, C. Mitter, and S. J. Scheffer (2009)
PNAS 106, 18103-18108
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Plant and Insect Biodiversity Special Feature: Macroevolution and the biological diversity of plants and herbivores.
D. J. Futuyma and A. A. Agrawal (2009)
PNAS 106, 18054-18061
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Temporal lags and overlap in the diversification of weevils and flowering plants.
D. D. McKenna, A. S. Sequeira, A. E. Marvaldi, and B. D. Farrell (2009)
PNAS 106, 7083-7088
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Gold bugs and beyond: a review of iridescence and structural colour mechanisms in beetles (Coleoptera).
A. E Seago, P. Brady, J.-P. Vigneron, and T. D Schultz (2009)
J R Soc Interface 6, S165-S184
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Rosid radiation and the rapid rise of angiosperm-dominated forests.
H. Wang, M. J. Moore, P. S. Soltis, C. D. Bell, S. F. Brockington, R. Alexandre, C. C. Davis, M. Latvis, S. R. Manchester, and D. E. Soltis (2009)
PNAS 106, 3853-3858
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The meaning of Darwin's 'abominable mystery'.
W. E. Friedman (2009)
Am. J. Botany 96, 5-21
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Pollination biology of basal angiosperms (ANITA grade).
L. B. Thien, P. Bernhardt, M. S. Devall, Z.-d. Chen, Y.-b. Luo, J.-H. Fan, L.-C. Yuan, and J. H. Williams (2009)
Am. J. Botany 96, 166-182
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Pervasive impact of large-scale edge effects on a beetle community.
R. M. Ewers and R. K. Didham (2008)
PNAS 105, 5426-5429
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A comparison of plant-insect associations in the middle Eocene Green River Formation and the Upper Eocene Florissant Formation and their climatic implications.
D. M. Smith (2008)
Geological Society of America Special Papers 435, 89-103
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A Comprehensive Phylogeny of Beetles Reveals the Evolutionary Origins of a Superradiation.
T. Hunt, J. Bergsten, Z. Levkanicova, A. Papadopoulou, O. St. John, R. Wild, P. M. Hammond, D. Ahrens, M. Balke, M. S. Caterino, et al. (2007)
Science 318, 1913-1916
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The genetic basis of a plant insect coevolutionary key innovation.
C. W. Wheat, H. Vogel, U. Wittstock, M. F. Braby, D. Underwood, and T. Mitchell-Olds (2007)
PNAS 104, 20427-20431
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Multistate Characters and Diet Shifts: Evolution of Erotylidae (Coleoptera).
R. A. B. Leschen and T. R. Buckley (2007)
Syst Biol 56, 97-112
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
From the Cover: Tropical forests are both evolutionary cradles and museums of leaf beetle diversity.
D. D. McKenna and B. D. Farrell (2006)
PNAS 103, 10947-10951
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
How Physical Characteristics of Beetles Affect their Fossil Preservation.
D. M. SMITH, A. COOK, and C. R. NUFIO (2006)
Palaios 21, 305-310
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Phylogeny of the ants: diversification in the age of angiosperms..
C. S. Moreau, C. D. Bell, R. Vila, S. B. Archibald, and N. E. Pierce (2006)
Science 312, 101-104
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Richness of plant-insect associations in Eocene Patagonia: A legacy for South American biodiversity.
P. Wilf, C. C. Labandeira, K. R. Johnson, and N. R. Cuneo (2005)
PNAS 102, 8944-8948
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Many-to-One Mapping of Form to Function: A General Principle in Organismal Design?.
P. C. Wainwright, M. E. Alfaro, D. I. Bolnick, and C. D. Hulsey (2005)
Integr. Comp. Biol. 45, 256-262
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Patterns of Genetic Structure among Populations of an Oligophagous Pollinating Yucca Moth (Tegeticula yuccasella).
J. Leebens-Mack and O. Pellmyr (2004)
J. Hered. 95, 127-135
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Fungus-farming insects: Multiple origins and diverse evolutionary histories.
U. G. Mueller and N. Gerardo (2002)
PNAS 99, 15247-15249
   Full Text »    PDF »
Paleobiology of middle Eocene plant-insect associations from the Pacific Northwest: A preliminary report.
C. C. Labandeira and C. C. Labandeira (2002)
Rocky Mountain Geology 37, 31-59
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Feeding specialization and host-derived chemical defense in Chrysomeline leaf beetles did not lead to an evolutionary dead end.
A. Termonia, T. H. Hsiao, J. M. Pasteels, and M. C. Milinkovitch (2001)
PNAS
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Delayed herbivory and the assembly of marine benthic ecosystems.
(2000)
Paleobiology 26, 419-430
Timing the Radiations of Leaf Beetles: Hispines on Gingers from Latest Cretaceous to Recent.
P. Wilf, C. C. Labandeira, W. J. Kress, C. L. Staines, D. M. Windsor, A. L. Allen, and K. R. Johnson (2000)
Science 289, 291-294
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Forty million years of mutualism: Evidence for Eocene origin of the yucca-yucca moth association.
O. Pellmyr and J. Leebens-Mack (1999)
PNAS 96, 9178-9183
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Flowers and Insect Evolution.
B. N. Danforth, J. Ascher;, R. S. Anderson;, and B. D. Farrell; (1999)
Science 283, 143a-143
   Full Text »
Feeding specialization and host-derived chemical defense in Chrysomeline leaf beetles did not lead to an evolutionary dead end.
A. Termonia, T. H. Hsiao, J. M. Pasteels, and M. C. Milinkovitch (2001)
PNAS 98, 3909-3914
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)