ArticlePloS one2014
Phylogenetic distribution of extant richness suggests metamorphosis is a key innovation driving diversification in insects.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers.
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Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed.
- Evolution of compound eye cell types shapes visual behaviors acrossbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Rewiring of two conserved signalling hubs into one axis underlies convergent female-specific wing regression in insects.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Article
- Nesting behaviour predicts heat tolerance evolution and climate vulnerability in bees.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Structural genomics sheds light on protein functions and remote homologs across the insect tree of life.Cell research · 2026Article
- Article
- A multi-resolution imaging and analysis pipeline for comparative circuit reconstruction in insects.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- No evidence that haplodiploidy favors the evolution of eusociality.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Evolution and Development of Insect Metamorphosis: A Case of Genetic Accommodation?Results and problems in cell differentiation · 2026Review
- A shortcut to sample coverage standardization in metabarcoding data provides new insights into land-use effects on insect diversity.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Diversification and extinction of Hemiptera in deep time.Communications biology · 2025Article
- A classic key innovation constrains oral jaw functional diversification in fishes.Evolution letters · 2025Article
- The macroevolutionary dynamics of pharyngognathy in fishes fail to support the key innovation hypothesis.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Robust resolved phylogeny of hexapods' four classes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Developmental correspondence of juvenile stages across the locust, harlequin ladybird, and diamondback moth.iScience · 2024Article
- Revisiting the four Hexapoda classes: Protura as the sister group to all other hexapods.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Shared Features Underlying Compact Genomes and Extreme Habitat Use in Chironomid Midges.Genome biology and evolution · 2024Article
- The angiosperm radiation played a dual role in the diversification of insects and insect pollinators.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Symbioses shape feeding niches and diversification across insects.Nature ecology & evolution · 2023Article
- Redefining Possible: Combining Phylogenomic and Supersparse Data in Frogs.Molecular biology and evolution · 2023Article
- Key innovations and the diversification of Hymenoptera.Nature communications · 2023Article
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Insects and their six-legged relatives (Hexapoda) comprise more than half of all described species and dominate terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Understanding the macroevolutionary processes generating this richness requires a historical perspective, but the fossil record of hexapods is patchy and incomplete. Dated molecular phylogenies provide an alternative perspective on divergence times and have been combined with birth-death models to infer patterns of diversification across a range of taxonomic groups. Here we generate a dated phylogeny of hexapod families, based on previously published sequence data and literature derived constraints, in order to identify the broad pattern of macroevolutionary changes responsible for the composition of the extant hexapod fauna. The most prominent increase in diversification identified is associated with the origin of complete metamorphosis, confirming this as a key innovation in promoting insect diversity. Subsequent reductions are recovered for several groups previously identified as having a higher fossil diversity during the Mesozoic. In addition, a number of recently derived taxa are found to have radiated following the development of flowering plant (angiosperm) floras during the mid-Cretaceous. These results reveal that the composition of the modern hexapod fauna is a product of a key developmental innovation, combined with multiple and varied evolutionary responses to environmental changes from the mid Cretaceous floral transition onward.
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