Taxacom: Pacific dragonfly biogeography

[John Grehan]

Just published Ferguson, D.G., Marinov, M., Saxton, N.A., Rashni, B. &
Bybee, S.M. 2023. Phylogeny and classification of Nesobasis Selys, 1891 and
Vanuatubasis Ober & Stanizcek, 2009 (Odonata: Coenagrionidae). Insect
Systematics and Evolution.pdf at
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Found sister group relationship between genus in Vanuatu (Vanuatubasis) and
Fiji (Nesobasis), and these sister to third genus in Fiji (Nikoullabsis)
(i.e. area relationship ((Vanuatu + Fiji) Fiji). Likely the program
crunchers would call upon chance dispersal from Fiji to Vanuatu (never mind
how they just hit this one archipelago and got isolated). But the authors
take into consideration the tectonic history, that "Although our research
did not have biogeographical analyses, our data does align with what is
currently known about the important biogeographical connection between Fiji
and Vanuatu (Heads 2008). Some studies highlight the islands of Fiji and
Vanuatu being much closer by about 10 Mya and have only recently been
diverging over the past 7 Mya (Taylor, Gascoyne, & Colley 2000; Hall 2002),
which may suggest why there is a unique relationship between the genera,
Nikoulabasis and Nesobasis, not being a closely related as initially
thought." In other words, when the Vanuatu arc was pushed away from the
Vitiaz arc (with Fiji) it took a chunk of  the common ancestor of Nesobasis
and Vanuatubasis with it.

John Grehan
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