The corbiculate bees arose from New World oil-collecting bees: Implications for the origin of pollen baskets
Abstract
We present the first phylogeny revealing the sister group of corbiculate bees. The sister group of the corbiculates is the Neotropical genus Centris. Corbiculates and Centris together diverged from another oil bee genus, Epicharis. Corbiculate bees arose in the New World ca. 84 my ago. Hairy hind leg adapted for oil transport thus preceded concave pollen baskets.
- Publication:
-
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
- Pub Date:
- November 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.07.003
- Bibcode:
- 2014MolPE..80...88M
- Keywords:
-
- mya;
- million years ago;
- Ancestral state reconstruction;
- Corbiculate bees;
- Divergence dating;
- Oil-collecting apparatus;
- Molecular phylogeny