The superfamily Eriophyoidea includes >5000 named species of very small phytophagous mites. As for many groups of phytophagous invertebrates, factors responsible for diversification of eriophyoid mites are unclear. Here, we used an inferred phylogeny of 566 putative species of eriophyoid mites based on fragments of two mitochondrial genes and two nuclear genes to examine factors associated with their massive evolutionary diversification through time. Our dated phylogeny indicates a Carboniferous origin for gymnosperm-associated Eriophyoidea with subsequent diversification involving multiple host shifts to angiosperms-first to dicots, and then to monocots or shifts back to gymnosperms-beginning in the Cretaceous period when angiosperms diverged. Speciation rates increased more rapidly in the Eriophyidae + Diptilomiopidae (mostly infesting angiosperms) than in the Phytoptidae (mostly infesting gymnosperms). Phylogenetic signal, speciation rates, dispersal and vicariance results combined with inferred topologies show that hosts played a key role in the evolution of eriophyoid mites. Speciation constrained by hosts was probably the main driver behind eriophyoid mite diversification worldwide. We demonstrate monophyly of the Eriophyoidea, whereas all three families, most subfamilies, tribes, and most genera are not monophyletic. Our time-calibrated tree provides a framework for further evolutionary studies of eriophyoid mites and their interactions with host plants as well as taxonomic revisions above the species level.
Keywords: Divergence time; Diversification; Higher-level phylogeny; Specialization; Speciation.
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