A comprehensive and integrative reconstruction of evolutionary history for Anomura (Crustacea: Decapoda)

Abstract

The infraorder Anomura has long captivated the attention of evolutionary biologists due to its impressive morphological diversity and ecological adaptations. To date, 2500 extant species have been described but phylogenetic relationships at high taxonomic levels remain unresolved. Here, we reconstruct the evolutionary history-phylogeny, divergence times, character evolution and diversification-of this speciose clade. For this purpose, we sequenced two mitochondrial (16S and 12S) and three nuclear (H3, 18S and 28S) markers for 19 of the 20 extant families, using traditional Sanger and next-generation 454 sequencing methods. Molecular data were combined with 156 morphological characters in order to estimate the largest anomuran phylogeny to date. The anomuran fossil record allowed us to incorporate 31 fossils for divergence time analyses.