Evolution of Tenebrionoidea
The Tenebrionoidea is inferred to origin in the early Jurassic (179.3-208.7 Mya) based on the mtgenomes and fossil calibrations points in the present study, which is consistent with earlier evolution studies in Coleoptera based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes (Mckenna et al. , 2015; Zhang et al. , 2016; Cai et al. , 2022). The present results suggest that most families subsequently diverged in the Cretaceous. Angiosperms replaced the previously dominant gymnosperms during the Cretaceous, and the warm and humid environment had been produced in Cretaceous, which provided food and habitat for the families in Tenebrionoidea. The family Ciidae seems to be earliest derived in these families in the present study, which is inconsistent with earlier evolution studies (Kergoat et al. , 2014b). The divergence time of Ciidae is not yet determined due to only one species to be included. The family Mordellidae and Ripiphoridae is among the earliest diverged families in the superfamily, Mordellidae and Ripiphoridae are estimated to originate at 115.7 and 126.6 Mya in the Cretaceous, which is consistent with the previous evolution study result based on 95 nuclear protein-coding genes in 373 beetle species using ML and BI (Zhang et al. , 2018). In the “Meloidae clade”, the families Meloidae (105 Mya), Anthicidae (123.8 Mya) and Oedemeridae (100.9 Mya) originated in the Cretaceous, which is consistent with earlier evolution studies based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes (Misof et al. , 2014; Kergoatet al. , 2014b). In the “Tenebrionidae clade”, the family Lagriidae (134.3 Mya) is proposed to be derived in the early Cretaceous, which is similar with the evolution study based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes in 404 beetle species (Kergoat et al. , 2014b). The family Tenebrionidae (128.9 Mya) is suggested to be derived in the early Cretaceous, which is consistent with the results of the previous evolution study based on 4 818 nuclear genes (Mckenna et al. , 2019).
In the family Lagriidae, the subfamilies Lagriinae (78.6 Mya) and Statiriinae (97.6 Mya) are proposed to be derived in the late Cretaceous for the first time. In the family Tenebrionidae, the present study suggests the origin of the subfamilies Alleculinae (53.6 Mya) and Stenochiinae (53.3 Mya) in the Paleogene, but is inconsistent with the results of the earlier evolution study (Kergoat et al. , 2014b), which be due to differences in the taxa included, fossils constraints and analysis methods applied. In further research, more accurate estimates of divergence times are necessary with more precise fossil records for calibration and more complete sampling.