Life was a beach: a panbiogeographic analysis of the cosmopolitan mayfly genus Choroterpes (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae: Atalophlebiinae)

Abstract

Mayflies of the cosmopolitan genus Choroterpes have been a systematic and biogeographical puzzle for many years. Currently, the genus is divided into three subgenera (Choroterpes s.s., Euthraulus, and Cryptopenella) distributed from North America to China, South America, Africa and New Guinea. Most extant species inhabit small lowland coastal streams, often temporary ones. They are generally absent from the diverse mayfly faunas of mid- and high-elevation tropical streams. A panbiogeographic analysis of the distribution of all known species, and a review of published life history observations, suggest that the ancestors of these genera were distributed along both sides of the Tethys Sea during the Mesozoic Era. Their combined distribution is a terrestrial analogue of a shallow water marine biota traversing the Tethys during the late Mesozoic. Ancestors of extant Choroterpes and related genera could have spread along the borders of epicontinental seas to reach the current distribution of the group.

Keywords:

• Choroterpes
• Ephemeroptera
• Tethys
• panbiogeography

Acknowledgements

I thank Eduardo Domínguez, John Grehan, Manuel Pescador, and Janice Peters for their suggestions on this manuscript. This research was funded in part by a grant (FLAX 02-03) from CSREES (USDA) to Florida A&M University.