Off-target capture data, endosymbiont genes and morphology reveal a relict lineage that is sister to all other singing cicadas

Phylogenetic asymmetry is common throughout the tree of life and results from contrasting patterns of speciation and extinction in the paired descendant lineages of ancestral nodes. On the depauperate side of a node, we find extant ´relict´ taxa that sit atop long, unbranched lineages. Here, we show that a tiny, pale green, inconspicuous and poorly known cicada in the genus Derotettix, endemic to degraded salt-plain habitats in arid regions of central Argentina, is a relict lineage that is sister to all other modern cicadas. Nuclear and mitochondrial phylogenies of cicadas inferred from probe-based genomic hybrid capture data of both target and non-target loci and a morphological cladogram support this hypothesis. We strengthen this conclusion with genomic data from one of the cicada nutritional bacterial endosymbionts, Sulcia, an ancient and obligate endosymbiont of the larger plant-sucking bugs (Auchenorrhyncha) and an important source of maternally inherited phylogenetic data. We establish Derotettiginae subfam. nov. as a new, monogeneric, fifth cicada subfamily, and compile existing and new data on the distribution, ecology and diet of Derotettix. Our consideration of the palaeoenvironmental literature and host-plant phylogenetics allows us to predict what might have led to the relict status of Derotettix over 100 Myr of habitat change in South America.

Fil: Simon, Chris. University of Connecticut; Estados Unidos

Fil: Gordon, Eric R. L.. University of Connecticut; Estados Unidos

Fil: Moulds, M.S.. Australian Museum Research Institute; Australia

Fil: Cole, Jeffrey A.. Pasadena City College; Estados Unidos

Fil: Haji, Diler. University of Connecticut; Estados Unidos

Fil: Lemmon, Alan R.. Florida State University; Estados Unidos

Fil: Lemmon, Emily Moriarty. Florida State University; Estados Unidos

Fil: Kortyna, Michelle. Florida State University; Estados Unidos

Fil: Nazario, Katherine. University of Connecticut; Estados Unidos

Fil: Wade, Elizabeth J.. Curry College. Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Estados Unidos. University of Connecticut; Estados Unidos

Fil: Meister, Russell C.. University of Connecticut; Estados Unidos

Fil: Goemans, Geert. University of Connecticut; Estados Unidos

Fil: Chiswell, Stephen M.. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research; Nueva Zelanda

Fil: Pessacq, Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica; Argentina

Fil: Veloso, Claudio. Universidad de Chile; Chile

Fil: McCutcheon, John P.. University of Montana; Estados Unidos

Fil: Lukasik, Piotr. University of Montana; Estados Unidos. Swedish Museum of Natural History. Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics; Suecia